Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
A SWITCHABLE FORWARD OSMOSIS SYSTEM, AND PROCESSES THEREOF
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present application pertains to the field of water treatment
systems. More
particularly, the present application relates to a switchable forward osmosis
system, and related
compositions and processes.
BACKGROUND
[0002] A challenge facing many industries is remediation or disposal of
wastewater generated
by industrial processes. Drilling and hydraulic fracturing in oil and gas
industries, for example,
generates produced water, which can be difficult to treat and is facing
growing disposal
restrictions. Produced water is water from underground formations that is
brought to the surface
during oil or gas production. Shale gas production, for example, can generate
approximately 25
- 1000 gallons of produced water per million cubic feet of gas produced
(gal/MMcf), depending
on the region [Shaffer, D. L. et al., Environ. Sci. Technol. 2013, 47, 9569-
9583].
[0003] Such produced water often contains a higher concentration of total
dissolved solids
(TDS) than is typically allowed for potable, or surface discharged water; for
example, some
produced water has a TDS range of 8000 to 360 000 mg/L, whereas certain water
quality
standards only allow 500 mg/L. Further, the produced water can contain
chemicals used in the
oil and gas recovery process, which can result in the produced water having a
low or high pH, a
high organic content, or a relatively high concentration of suspended solids
[R.L. McGinnis et
al., Desalination, 2013, 312, 67-74; Shaffer, D. L. et al., Environ. Sci.
Technol. 2013, 47,
9569-9583].
[0004] A commonly employed method of wastewater disposal involves deep-well
injections,
which comprises transporting and injecting wastewater into previously drilled
wells. Such
methods of disposal can be costly: for example, disposal costs of produced
water from Montney
Shale in Western Canada are approximately $50/m3 [Paktinat, J. et al.,
Canadian Society for
Unconventional Gas/Society of Petroleum Engineers, 149272, 2011]. There are
also certain
dangers associated with deep-well disposal: for example, such disposal methods
can apply
pressure to existing fault lines, inducing "man-made" earthquakes. As reported
by the US
Geological Survey (USGS), an average of 100 earthquakes occurred annually
between 2010
and 2013, as compared to an average of 20 earthquakes observed annually
between 1970 and
2000; this was found to correspond with an increase in hydraulic fracturing
and waste disposal
through deep-well injections [http://time.c0m/84225/fracking-and-earthquake-
link/, accessed on
- 1 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
June 12, 2015; http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/earthquake-hazard-linked-
with-deep-
well-injection-in-alberta-1.2751963, accessed on June 12, 2015;
http://www.usgs.gov/blogs/features/usgs_top_story/man-made-earthquakes/,
accessed on
June 12, 2015].
[0005] As an alternative to disposal methods, currently employed methods for
remediating
wastewater include distillation (e.g., mechanical vapour compression, "MVC"),
crystallization,
reverse osmosis, and forward osmosis. MVC is an evaporative technique that
uses an open-
loop heat pump to evaporate water from high-salinity produced water. Such
evaporative
techniques are inherently energy intensive; and, while MVC units can operate
at 60 C, their
specific energy consumptions can approach 14 kWh/m3 distillate (for example,
13.6 kWh/m3
distillate energy consumption, at 600 m3 distillate/day and 30% recovery of
distillate from the
produced water) [Shaffer, D. L. et al., Environ. Sci. Technol. 2013, 47, 9569-
9583].
Crystallization, in contrast, is an evaporative wastewater remediation process
that involves
complete water evaporation: it results in formation of solid salts, thus
offering a zero liquid
discharge remediation process. However, crystallization is often considered a
costly
remediation method, partially owing to its high mechanical/thermal energy
requirement.
[0006] Reverse osmosis (RO) is a membrane-based separation process that forces
solvent
(e.g., wastewater) from an area of high solute concentration (feed solution),
through a semi-
permeable, salt-excluding membrane, to an area of low solute concentration by
applying
hydraulic pressure to overcome the system's inherent osmotic pressure
differential. Generally,
the required hydraulic pressures are high (..?. 50 atm) and, consequently, the
energy
consumption from RO can be comparable to MVC. RO's performance is further
exacerbated by
membrane fouling, and a high-pressure operating limit of 70 000 mg/L TDS for
feed solution
concentrations [Shaffer, D. L. et al., Environ. Sci. Technol. 2013, 47, 9569-
9583; Stone, M. L.,
et al., Desalination, 2013, 312, 124-129].
[0007] In contrast, forward osmosis (FO), another membrane-based separation
process, offers
a lower cost, lower pressure alternative to the other methods of water
remediation. FO operates
by spontaneous movement of water across a semi-permeable membrane, as a result
of the
inherent difference in osmotic pressure between the feed solution (e.g.,
wastewater) on one
side of the salt-excluding semi-permeable membrane, and the draw solution,
containing a high
concentration of draw solute, on the other side of the membrane. Once the
osmotic pressures
have equalized on both sides of the membrane, movement of water ceases. Clean
water can
be obtained by separation of the draw solute from the water in the diluted
draw solution.
- 2 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
[0008] To facilitate isolation of water from FO systems via removal of draw
solutes from diluted
draw solution, switchable and/or thermolytic draw solutes have been developed.
[0009] As described in PCT application, PCT/CA2011/050075, Jessop et al.
developed a
switchable water composition, and related systems, that is switchable between
an initial ionic
strength and an increased ionic strength; the composition comprises water and
a switchable
amine additive. The amine additive, comprising at least one nitrogen
sufficiently basic to be
protonated, can be reversibly converted to an ammonium salt in the presence of
water and an
ionizing trigger (e.g., CO2), thereby increasing the water's ionic strength
and osmotic pressure.
Exposing the ionic system to reduced pressures, heat, and/or a flushing gas
(e.g., air, nitrogen)
causes deprotonation of the amine additive, returning the water to its initial
ionic strength. The
deprotonated additive is typically more easily isolable from water, as
compared to its ionic
counterpart. The inherent characteristics of the switchable water composition,
including its
capacity for a reversible increase in ionic strength and osmotic pressure, and
the removability
of the switchable additive from the water, makes this composition particularly
well suited for use
as a FO draw solution.
[0010] As described by Neff, in U.S. patent US3130156, and later by McGinnis
(see, for
example, U.S. patent U57560029), FO systems comprising thermolytic ammonia-
based draw
solutions have also been developed. These ammonia-based FO systems incorporate
a
relatively high osmotic pressure draw solution generated by exposing ammonia
to CO2 in the
presence of water to produce ammonium salts. Isolation of water from such FO
systems is
purportedly possible by decomposing the ammonium salts of the diluted draw
solution into their
constituent gases and separating those gases from the water. However, as
described by
Jessop et at., processes involving ammonia-based draw solutions are more
energy intensive
than those involving amine-based draw solutions: for example, deprotonation of
an NH4 + salt
requires an energy input of 52.3 kJ/mol, versus only 36.9 kJ/mol for
comparable NR3H+
systems [Mucci, A.; Domain, R.; Benoit, R. L. Can. J. Chem. 1980, 58, 953-
958].
[0011] More recently, Ikeda et al., Elimelech et al. and Forward Water
Technologies described
FO systems comprising trimethylamine (TMA) based draw solutions [see, for
example, PCT
application PCT/JP2011/072261; and, Boo, C., Journal of Membrane Science,
2015, 473, 302-
309]. TMA is an amine additive capable of switching between a neutral form and
an ionized
form when exposed to ionizing triggers (e.g., acid gases) in the presence of
water; and, thus, is
useful for providing solutions having switchable osmotic strength, as first
described by Jessop
et al.. Like ammonia, TMA is a gas at ambient temperature and pressure; and as
such,
application of reduced pressures, heat, or flushing gases to a solution
comprising an ionized
TMA salt will revert it back into its constituents, including TMA gas, thereby
facilitating removal
- 3 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
of TMA from the solution. Therefore, as with ammonia-based FO systems, TMA-
based FO
systems offer a facile means for isolating water from the draw solution; and,
at a lower energy
requirement than ammonia-based systems.
[0012] Ikeda et al. demonstrated use of their ionized TMA-based FO system with
feed solutions
containing 0.1 - 3.5 wt% TDS, while Elimelech et al. used only deionized water
as the feed
solution merely to demonstrate the usability of TMA as a draw solute. Both
groups employed
fairly dilute draw solutions in their FO systems: <26 wt% (Ikeda et al.); and
11 wt% (Elimelech
et al.) ionized TMA. The studies performed by Ikeda et al., and Elimelech et
al. demonstrated
the use of ionized TMA as a switchable agent in the draw solution of an FO
system with a fresh
water feed stream or feed stream having a salt concentration approximately
equivalent to sea
water. The feed streams used in these studies are readily employed in RO
systems. However,
as described above, RO systems have a high-pressure operating limit of 70 000
mg/L TDS for
feed solutions; more concentrated feed streams generally cannot be treated
using RO and
require alternative treatment methods.
[0013] There remains a need for an FO system that operates at a lower energy
than ammonia-
based FO systems, offers a facile method of draw solute separation from water,
and that has
utility in remediating feed solutions that would otherwise be untreatable by
RO systems, such
as industrial process wastewater having high TDS.
[0014] The above information is provided for the purpose of making known
information
believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present
invention. No admission is
necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding
information constitutes
prior art against the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] An object of the present application is to provide a switchable forward
osmosis system,
and processes thereof.
[0016] In accordance with an aspect of the present application, there is
provided a process for
treating an aqueous feed stream, comprising: forward osmosis using an aqueous
draw solution
having a draw solute concentration of 20 wt%, wherein the draw solute
comprises ionized
trimethylamine and a counter ion; wherein, the feed stream: (i) comprises
?.5wt% total dissolved
solids; (ii) is at a temperature of 520 C; (iii) is at a temperature between
nOnC - 560 C; (iv) has
an acidic pH or a basic pH; (v) comprises organic content; (vi) comprises
suspended solids; or
(vii) any combination of two or more of i) - vi).
- 4 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
[0017] In accordance with one embodiment, there is provided a process
comprising forward
osmosis, wherein the forward osmosis comprises: a) introducing the feed stream
to one side of
a semi-permeable membrane that is selectively permeable to water; b)
introducing the draw
solution to the other side of the semi-permeable membrane; c) permitting flow
of water from the
feed solution through the semi-permeable membrane into the draw solution to
form a
concentrated feed solution and a dilute draw solution.
[0018] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a process
comprising
forward osmosis, wherein the forward osmosis further comprises d) isolating
the draw solute
from the dilute draw solution; and e) reconstituting the concentrated draw
solution from the
isolated draw solute.
[0019] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a process
wherein
separating the draw solute from the dilute draw solution comprises reverse
osmosis;
volatilization; heating; a flushing gas; a vacuum or partial vacuum;
agitation; or any combination
thereof.
[0020] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a process
wherein
reconstituting the concentrated draw solution comprises: a) introducing an
ionizing trigger, such
as carbon dioxide, to an aqueous solution of trimethylamine; b) introducing
trimethylamine to an
aqueous solution of an ionizing trigger, such as carbon dioxide; c)
simultaneously introducing
trimethylamine and an ionizing trigger, such as carbon dioxide, to an aqueous
solution; or d)
any combination thereof.
[0021] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a process
wherein the
process is i) a closed process; ii) a continuously cycled process; or, iii) a
combination thereof.
[0022] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a process
wherein the feed
solution comprises between 5 - 30wt% total dissolved solids; or,
alternatively, between 5 -
25wt% total dissolved solids; or, alternatively, between 5 - 20wt% total
dissolved solids; or,
alternatively, between 5 - 15wt% total dissolved solids; or, alternatively,
between 5 - 10wt%
total dissolved solids; or, alternatively, between 6- lOwt% total dissolved
solids.
[0023] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a process
wherein the total
dissolved solids comprise metal oxides; minerals; monovalent ions; divalent
ions; trivalent ions;
or any combination thereof.
- 5 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
[0024] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a process
wherein the feed
solution is at a temperature between 0 - 15 C; or, alternatively, between 0 -
10 C; or,
alternatively between 0 - 5 C; or, alternatively, between 3 - 5 C.
[0025] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a process
wherein the feed
solution is at a temperature between 30 - 60 C; or, alternatively, 30 - 50 C;
or, alternatively, 30 -
40 C; or, alternatively, 30 - 35 C.
[0026] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a process
wherein the feed
solution has a pH 5 6; or, alternatively, 5 5; or, alternatively, <3. In
accordance with another
embodiment, there is provided a process wherein the feed solution has a pH ?,
8; or,
alternatively, 9; or, alternatively, 11.
[0027] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a process
wherein the
organic content of the feed solution comprises suspended or solubilized
organic compounds,
carbohydrates, polysaccharides, proteins, algae, viruses, plant matter, animal
matter, or any
combination thereof.
[0028] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a process
wherein the feed
solution comprises suspended solids.
[0029] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a process
wherein the feed
solution is hard water, process water, produced water, flowback water,
wastewater, or any
combination thereof.
[0030] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a process
wherein the draw
solution has a draw solute concentration between 30w1% to saturation; or,
alternatively,
between 30 - 70wt%; or, alternatively, between 30 - 60wt%; or, alternatively,
between 30 -50wt%; or, alternatively, between 30 - 40wt%. In accordance with
another embodiment, there is
provided a process wherein the draw solution has a draw solute concentration
between 30 -40wt%; or, alternatively, between 60 - 70wtcYo.
[0031] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a process
wherein the feed
stream is a complex feed stream that comprises 5wt% total dissolved solids and
(i) organic
content; (ii) suspended solids; or (iii) both organic content and suspended
solids.
[0032] In accordance with another aspect of the application, there is provided
a forward
osmosis system, comprising: (i) an aqueous draw solution having a draw solute
concentration
of 20 wt%, the draw solute comprising ionized trimethylamine and a counterion;
and (i) at least
one forward osmosis element, comprising: a semi-permeable membrane that is
selectively
- 6 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
permeable to water, having a first side and a second side; at least one port
to bring a feed
solution in fluid communication with the first side of the membrane; and at
least one port to
bring the draw solution in fluid communication with the second side of the
membrane, wherein
water flows from the feed solution through the semi-permeable membrane into
the draw
solution, to form a concentrated feed solution and a diluted draw solution.
[0033] In accordance with one embodiment, there is provided a system further
comprising
further comprising a system for regenerating the draw solution, comprising: a)
means for
isolating the draw solutes or non-ionized forms of the draw solutes from the
dilute draw
solution; b) means for reconstituting the draw solution from the isolated draw
solutes or the
non-ionized forms of the draw solutes.
[0034] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a system
wherein means for
isolating the draw solute from the dilute draw solution comprises: a reverse
osmosis system;
volatilization; heating; a flushing gas; a vacuum or partial vacuum;
agitation; or any combination
thereof.
[0035] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a system
wherein means for
reconstituting the draw solution from the isolated draw solutes or the non-
ionized forms of the
draw solutes comprises: a) means for introducing an ionizing trigger, such as
carbon dioxide, to
an aqueous solution of trimethylamine; b) means for introducing trimethylamine
to an aqueous
solution of an ionizing trigger, such as carbon dioxide; c) means for
simultaneously introducing
trimethylamine and an ionizing trigger such as carbon dioxide to an aqueous
solution; or d) any
combination thereof
[0036] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a system
wherein the system
is: (i) closed; (ii) continuously cycled; or (iii) a combination thereof.
[0037] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a system
wherein the feed
solution comprises between 5 - 30wt% total dissolved solids; or,
alternatively, between 5 -25wt% total dissolved solids; or, alternatively,
between 5 - 20wt% total dissolved solids; or,
alternatively, between 5 - 15wt% total dissolved solids; or, alternatively,
between 5- lOwt%; or,
alternatively, between 6 - lOwt% total dissolved solids.
[0038] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a system
wherein the total
dissolved solids comprise metal oxides; minerals; monovalent ions; divalent
ions; trivalent ions;
or a combination thereof.
- 7 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
[0039] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a system
wherein the feed
solution is at a temperature between 0 - 15 C; or, alternatively, between 0 -
10 C; or,
alternatively between 0 - 5 C; or, alternatively, between 3 - 5 C.
[0040] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a system
wherein the feed
solution is a temperature between 30 - 60 C; or, alternatively, 30 - 50 C; or,
alternatively, 30 -
40 C; or, alternatively, 30 - 35 C.
[0041] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a system
wherein the feed
solution has a pH 5 6; or, alternatively, 5 5; or, alternatively, <3. In
accordance with another
embodiment, there is provided a system wherein the feed solution has a pH a 8;
or,
alternatively, a 9; or, alternatively, a 10.
[0042] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a system
wherein the feed
solution comprises organic content. In accordance with another embodiment,
there is provided
a system wherein the organic content comprises suspended or solubilized
organic compounds,
carbohydrates, polysaccharides, proteins, algae, viruses, plant matter, animal
matter, or any
combination thereof.
[0043] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a system
wherein the feed
solution comprises suspended solids.
[0044] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a system
wherein the feed
solution is hard water, process water, produced water, flow-back water,
wastewater, or any
combination thereof.
[0045] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a system
wherein the draw
solution has a draw solute concentration between a 30w1% and saturation; or,
alternatively,
between 30 - 70wt%; or, alternatively, between 30 - 60wt%; or, alternatively,
between 30 -50wt%; or, alternatively, between 30 - 40wt%. In accordance with
another embodiment, there is
provided a system wherein the draw solution has a draw solute concentration
between 30 -40wt%; or, alternatively, between 60 - 70wt%.
[0046] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a system
wherein the feed
stream is a complex feed stream that comprises a5wt% total dissolved solids
and (i) organic
content; (ii) suspended solids; or (iii) both organic content and suspended
solids.
[0047] In accordance with another aspect of the application, there is provided
a draw solution
for a forward osmosis process, comprising: (i) water; (ii) ionized
trinnethylamine at a
- 8 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
concentration of 2() wt%; and (iii) an anionic species at a concentration
suitable to act as a
counter ion for the ionized trimethylamine.
[0048] In accordance with one embodiment, there is provided a draw solution
wherein the
ionized trimethylamine is present at a concentration of between 30wt% and
saturation; or,
alternatively, between 30 - 70wt%; or, alternatively, between 30 - 60wt%; or,
alternatively,
between 30 - 50wt%; or, alternatively, between 30 - 40wt%.
[0049] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a draw
solution wherein the
anionic species is carbonate, bicarbonate, or a combination thereof.
[0050] In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a draw
solution wherein the
source of the anionic species is CO2 gas.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES AND TABLES
[0051] For a better understanding of the present application, as well as other
aspects and
further features thereof, reference is made to the following description which
is to be used in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings and tables, where:
[0052] Figure 1A depicts a diagram of an example of a forward osmosis (FO)
flow cell, as
described and used herein;
[0053] Figure 1B depicts a calibration curve for Gas Chromatography-Flame
Ionizing Detector
(GC-FID) analysis of ionized trimethylamine;
[0054] Figure 1C depicts a calibration curve for Fourier Transform Infrared
Spectroscopy (FT-
IR) analysis of ionized trimethylamine;
[0055] Figure 2 depicts a graph outlining a change in mass of a 66 wt% ionized
trimethylamine
draw solution with respect to time (3 hours) and various feed solution
concentrations;
[0056] Figure 3 depicts a graph outlining a change in mass of a 33 wt% ionized
trimethylamine
draw solution with respect to time (3 hours);
[0057] Figure 4 depicts a graph outlining changes in mass, based on 24 hours
of operation
over 28 days, of a 33 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution with respect to
time (24 hours),
in a flow cell equipped with a 3 wt% NaCI feed solution;
- 9 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
[0058] Figure 5 depicts a graph outlining flux, based on first hour of
operation over 28 days,
obtained via a herein described FO flow cell equipped with a 33 wt% ionized
trimethylamine
draw solution and 3 wt% NaCI feed solution;
[0059] Figure 6 depicts a graph outlining reverse salt flux amounts,
calculated after second
hour of operation over 28 days, obtained via a herein described FO flow cell
equipped with a 33
wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution and 3 wt% NaCI feed solution;
[0060] Figure 7 depicts a graph outlining a change in mass of a 33 wt% ionized
trimethylamine
draw solution with respect to time (3 hours), in a FO flow cell equipped with
a NaCI or
NaCl/CaCl2 comprising feed solutions (said NaCl/CaCl2 comprising feed
solutions indicated by
% total dissolved solids; % TDS), of various concentrations;
[0061] Figure 8 depicts a graph outlining a change in mass of a 66 wt% ionized
trimethylamine
draw solution with respect to time (3 hours), in a FO flow cell equipped with
a NaCl/CaCl2
comprising feed solutions (said NaCl/CaCl2 comprising feed solutions indicated
by %TDS), of
various concentrations;
[0062] Figure 9 depicts a graph outlining a change in mass of a 66 wt% ionized
trimethylamine
draw solution with respect to time (3 hours), in a FO flow cell equipped with
a 6 wt% TDS feed
solution (FS) while varying temperature of the feed solution;
[0063] Figure 10 depicts a graph outlining a change in mass of a 66 wt%
ionized
trimethylamine draw solution with respect to time (3 hours), in a FO flow cell
equipped with a 6
wt% TDS feed solution (FS) while varying temperature of both feed and draw
solution (DS);
[0064] Figure 11 depicts a graph outlining a change in mass of a 33 wt%
ionized
trimethylamine draw solution with respect to time (3 hours), in a FO flow cell
equipped with a 6
wt% TDS feed solution (FS) while varying pH of the feed solution;
[0065] Figure 12 depicts a diagram of a demonstrative, non-limiting example of
an equipment
set-up for reconstitution of an ionized trimethylamine draw solution, as
described and used
herein;
[0066] Figure 13 depicts a graph outlining a control study of the change in
mass of a 66 wt%
ionized trimethylamine draw solution with respect to time (3 hours), in a FO
flow cell equipped
with a low salt aqueous feed solution (< 1wt% TDS);
[0067] Figure 14 depicts a calibration curve for FT-IR analysis of
trimethylamine;
-10-
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
[0068] Figure 15 depicts a graph outlining a change in mass of a 12.5 wt% NaCI
draw solution
and a 3 wt% NaCI feed solution with respect to time (1 hour), in a larger
scale FO flow cell;
[0069] Figure 16 depicts a graph outlining a change in mass of a 33 wt%
ionized
trimethylamine draw solution and a 3 wt% NaCI feed solution with respect to
time (1 hour), in a
larger scale FO flow cell;
[0070] Figure 17 depicts a diagram of a demonstrative, non-limiting example of
an equipment
set-up for removal of ionized trimethylamine and counterion as draw solute
from diluted draw
solution, as described and used herein;
[0071] Figure 18 depicts a graph outlining a comparison of sparging gases and
their efficacy in
draw solute removal from a draw solution; and
[0072] Figure 19 depicts a diagram of a demonstrative, non-limiting example of
a larger scale
FO flow cell, as described and used herein;
[0073] Table 1A delineates flux (LMH) values, calculated for 1st hour of each
run, from a flow
cell equipped with a NaCI feed solution, and a 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine
draw solution;
[0074] Table 1B delineates FT-IR calibration curve data for analysis of
trimethylamine;
[0075] Table 1C delineates FT-IR calibration curve data for analysis of
ionized trimethylamine;
[0076] Table 2 delineates reverse salt flux values of wt% trimethylamine
present in feed
solutions, as calculated by GC-FID, for a flow cell equipped with NaCI feed
solutions, and a 66
wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution;
[0077] Table 3 delineates reverse salt flux values of wt% trimethylamine
present in feed
solutions, as calculated by GC-FID, for a flow cell equipped with NaCI feed
solutions, and a
33 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution;
[0078] Table 4 delineates flux values (LMH), calculated during 1st hour of
flow cell operation,
for a FO flow cell equipped with an NaCI or NaCl/CaCl2 comprising feed
solution (the
NaCl/CaCl2 comprising feed solutions indicated by % total dissolved solids; %
TDS) at 25 C;
[0079] Table 5 delineates reverse salt flux values of wt% ionized
trimethylamine present in feed
solutions, as calculated by FT-IR, for a FO flow cell equipped with an NaCI or
NaCl/CaCl2-
comprising feed solution (the NaCl/CaCl2 comprising feed solutions indicated
by % total
dissolved solids; % TDS);
- 11 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
[0080] Table 6 delineates flux values (LMH), calculated during 1st hour of
flow cell operation,
for a FO flow cell equipped with 6 wt% TDS feed solution and a 66 wt% ionized
trimethylamine
draw solution, while varying temperature of the feed solution;
[0081] Table 7 delineates reverse salt flux values of wt% ionized
trimethylamine present in feed
solutions, as calculated by FT-IR, for a FO flow cell equipped with 6 wt% TDS
feed solution and
a 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution, while varying temperature of
the feed solution;
[0082] Table 8 delineates reverse salt flux values of wt% ionized
trimethylamine present in feed
solutions, as calculated by FT-IR, for a FO flow cell equipped with 6 wt% TDS
feed solution and
a 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution, while varying temperature of
the feed and draw
solution;
[0083] Table 9 delineates flux values (LMH), calculated during 1St hour of
flow cell operation,
for a FO flow cell equipped with 6 wt% TDS feed solution and a 33 wt% ionized
trimethylamine
draw solution, while varying pH of the feed solution;
[0084] Table 10 delineates reverse salt flux values of wt% ionized
trimethylamine present in
feed solutions, as calculated by FT-IR, for a FO flow cell equipped with 6 wt%
TDS feed
solution and a 33 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution, while varying pH
of the feed
solution;
[0085] Table 11 delineates flux values (LMH), calculated during 1st hour of
flow cell operation,
and reverse salt flux values of wt% ionized trimethylamine present in feed
solutions, as
calculated by FT-IR, for a FO flow cell equipped with <1 wt% TDS wastewater
feed solution and
a 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution;
[0086] Table 12 delineates initial inductively coupled plasma optical emission
spectrometry
(ICP-OES) analysis from Caducean of mining tailing samples, prior to FO
treatment;
[0087] Table 13 delineates ICP-OES analysis from Caducean of mining tailing
samples
following FO treatment in a FO flow cell equipped with a 66 wt% ionized
trimethylamine draw
solution;
[0088] Table 14 delineates flux values (LMH), calculated during 151 hour of
flow cell operation,
for a FO flow cell equipped with a mining tailings feed solution, and a 66 wt%
ionized
trimethylamine draw solution;
[0089] Table 15 delineates reverse salt flux (reverse salt flux) values of wt%
ionized
trimethylamine present in feed solutions, as calculated by FT-IR, for a FO
flow cell equipped
-12-
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
with a mining tailings feed solution and a 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw
solution, over 48
hours;
[0090] Table 16 delineates analysis of select parameters from received
concentrated municipal
wastewater analysis pre- and post-FO treatment;
[0091] Table 17 delineates analysis of select parameters from produced
wastewater samples,
pre- and post-FO treatment;
[0092] Table 18 delineates ICP-OES analysis from Caducean of produced
wastewater
samples, pre- and post-FO treatment;
[0093] Table 19 delineates flux values (LMH), calculated during 1st hour of
flow cell operation,
for a FO flow cell equipped with a flowback wastewater feed solution, and a 66
wt% ionized
trimethylamine draw solution;
[0094] Table 20 delineates analysis of select parameters for flowback
wastewater pre- and
post-FO treatment;
[0095] Table 21 delineates ICP-OES analysis of received flowback wastewaters
pre- and post-
FO treatment;
[0096] Table 22 delineates parameters and results of FO treated simulated, and
received, feed
solutions with ionized TMA draw solutions using a FO flow cell equipped with
hollow-fibre
module membranes;
[0097] Table 23 delineates maximum temperature for carbonation of 50 mL of 45%
TMA under
various dynamic pressures of carbon dioxide;
[0098] Table 24 delineates flux values (LMH), calculated during 1st hour of
flow cell operation,
and reverse salt flux values of wt% ionized trimethylamine present in feed
solutions, as
calculated by FT-IR, for a FO flow cell equipped with a 12.5 wt% NaCI draw
solution and a 3
wt% NaCI feed solution, in a large scale FO flow cell;
[0099] Table 25 delineates a % TDS rejection calculated for FO treated
brackish, deoiled, and
weak-acid cation exchange-treated process water, as determined by ICP-OES
analysis.
- 13-
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[00100] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used
herein have the
same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to
which this
invention belongs.
[00101] As used in the specification and claims, the singular forms "a",
"an" and "the"
include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[00102] The term "comprising" as used herein will be understood to mean
that the list
following is non-exhaustive and may or may not include any other additional
suitable items, for
example one or more further feature(s), component(s) and/or ingredient(s) as
appropriate.
[00103] The term "switched" means that the physical properties and in
particular the ionic
strength, have been modified. "Switchable" means able to be converted from a
first state with a
first set of physical properties (in the present application, this refers to a
first state of a given
ionic strength) to a second state with a second set of physical properties
(i.e., a state of higher
ionic strength). A "trigger" is a change of conditions (e.g., introduction or
removal of a gas,
change in temperature) that causes the change in the physical properties,
e.g., ionic strength.
The term "reversible" means that the reaction can proceed in either direction
(backward or
forward) depending on the reaction conditions.
[00104] "Carbonated water" or "aqueous CO2" means a solution of water in
which CO2
has been dissolved. "CO2 saturated water" means a solution of water in which
CO2 is dissolved
to the maximum extent at that temperature.
[00105] As used herein, "a gas that has substantially no carbon dioxide"
means that the
gas has insufficient CO2 content to interfere with the removal of CO2 from the
solution. For
some applications, air may be a gas that has substantially no CO2. Untreated
air may be
successfully employed, i.e., air in which the CO2 content is unaltered from
air that occurs
naturally; this would provide a cost saving. For instance, air may be a gas
that has substantially
no CO2 because in some circumstances, the approximately 0.04% by volume of CO2
present in
air is insufficient to maintain an additive in a switched form, such that air
can be a trigger used
to remove CO2 from a solution and cause switching. Similarly, "a gas that has
substantially no
CO2, CS2 or COS" has insufficient CO2, CS2 or COS content to interfere with
the removal of
CO2, CS2 or COS from the solution.
[00106] As used herein, "additive" may be used to refer to trimethylamine
as it is used in
a switchable draw solution for forward osmosis. When an aqueous solution that
includes the
-14-
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
trimethylamine additive is subjected to a trigger, the additive reversibly
switches between two
states, a non-ionized state where the nitrogen is trivalent and is uncharged,
and an ionized
state where the nitrogen is protonated making it a positively charged nitrogen
atom. For
convenience herein, the uncharged or non-ionic form of the additive is
generally not specified,
whereas the ionic form is generally specified.
[00107] The term "ionized trimethylamine", as used herein, refers to
protonated or
charged trimethylamine, wherein the trimethylamine has been protonated or
rendered charged
by exposure to an acid gas, such as but not limited to CO2, COS, and/or CS2,
in the presence
of water/aqueous solution.
[00108] The ionized form of trimethylamine is also herein referred to as an
"ammonium
salt". When the ionized trimethylamine is formed by exposure to the acid gas
CO2 in the
presence of water or an aqueous solution, the ionic form of trimethylamine
comprises both
carbonates and bicarbonates. Consequently, although the draw solution is
referred to herein as
an ionized trimethylamine, it should be understood that, when the ionizing
trigger is CO2, the
draw solution will contain a mixture of carbonate and bicarbonate salts of the
ionized
trimethylamine. Although carbonic acid (002 in water/aqueous solution) is
mentioned and is
used in the examples provided in this application, the nitrogen of
trimethylamine would also be
protonated by CS2 in water/aqueous solution and COS in water/aqueous solution.
As such, this
term is intended to denote the nitrogen's basicity and it is not meant to
imply which of the three
exemplary trigger gases (CO2, CS2 or COS) is used.
[00109] As would be readily appreciated by a worker skilled in the art,
since few
protonation reactions proceed to completion, when the trimethylamine additive
is referred to
herein as being "protonated" it means that all, or only the majority, of the
molecules of the
compound are protonated. For example, more than about 90%, or more than about
95%, or
about 95%, of the molecules are protonated by carbonic acid.
[00110] "Ionic" means containing or involving or occurring in the form of
positively or
negatively charged ions, i.e., charged moieties. "Nonionic' means comprising
substantially of
molecules with no formal charges. Nonionic does not imply that there are no
ions of any kind,
but rather that a substantial amount of basic nitrogens are in an unprotonated
state. "Salts" as
used herein are compounds with no net charge formed from positively and
negatively charged
ions.
[00111] "Ionic strength" of a solution is a measure of the concentration of
ions in the
solution. Ionic compounds (i.e., salts), which dissolve in water will
dissociate into ions,
-15-
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
increasing the ionic strength of a solution. The total concentration of
dissolved ions in a solution
will affect important properties of the solution such as the dissociation or
solubility of different
compounds. The ionic strength, I, of a solution is a function of the
concentration of all ions
present in the solution and is typically given by the equation (A),
n
Eciz?
2 1=1 (A)
in which c, is the molar concentration of ion i in mol/dm3, z, is the charge
number of that ion
and the sum is taken over all ions dissolved in the solution. In non-ideal
solutions, volumes are
not additive such that it is preferable to calculate the ionic strength in
terms of molality (mol/kg
H20), such that ionic strength can be given by equation (B),
1 PI
=i
2 1,, (B)
in which m, is the molality of ion i in mol/kg H20, and z, is as defined for
equation (A).
[00112] The term "ICP-OES" is used herein to refer to inductively coupled
plasma optical
emission spectrometry, which is a technique used for the detection of trace
metals.
[00113] As used herein, when referring to wastewater from hydraulic
fracturing (or
"fracking"), the term "flowback water" refers to the water that returns to the
surface after the
hydraulic fracturing procedure is completed and the pressure is released. This
water includes
salts, gelling agents and excess proppant that flows up through the wellbore
to the surface after
pressure release. Following completion of the drilling and fracturing, water
is produced along
with the natural gas; some of which is returned fracturing fluid and some of
which is natural
formation water; this combination is referred to as "produced water".
[00114] As used herein, "acidic" refers to a pH of <7; for example: a pH
between <7- 6;
or a pH S 6; or, alternatively, s 5; or, alternatively, S 3. As used herein
"basic" refers to a pH of
>7; for example: a pH between >7 - 8; or a pH ? 8; or, alternatively, ? 9; or,
alternatively, ? 11.
As used herein, 'highly acidic' refers to a pH 3; and, as used herein, 'highly
basic' refers to a
pH ?11.
-16-
[00115] As used herein, "organic content" refers to carbon-based
constituents of a feed
solution, such as, but not limited to organic compounds (e.g., hydrocarbons,
alcohols, esters,
fatty acids, organic acids, etc.), proteins, carbohydrates, polysaccharides,
plant matter, algae,
viruses, biological cells, etc., or any combination thereof.
[00116] The present application provides a system (or apparatus) and
process for
forward osmosis. The system and process are useful in treatment of typically
hard to treat, or
hard to dewater, feed streams; such as, for example, salty water having high
total dissolved
solids (TDS). The system can also be used for the production of freshwater by
desalination of
seawater, or brackish water. The system and process is useful for partial
dewatering of
wastewater, process water, or other industrial aqueous solutions (whether
waste or in a
process). The osmosis concentrates the wastewater/process water/industrial
aqueous solution
and produces a purified water stream that can be directly recycled or disposed
of, or further
purified or processed for recycling or disposal. In one embodiment, the
purified water stream
comprises wt% total dissolved solids (TDS). In another embodiment, the
purified water
stream comprises wt% TDS; and, in yet another embodiment, the purified
water stream
comprises 0.5 wt% TDS. In one embodiment, the purified water stream undergoes
additional
treatment and/or polishing to further reduce the weight percent of total
dissolved solids to a
concentration suitable for the purified water stream's end use.
[00117] As noted above, ionized trimethylamine has been used successfully
in a draw
solution for forward osmosis (see, for example, International PCT application
PCT/CA2011/050777). It has now been found that high concentrations of ionized
trimethylamine (i.e., >20-30% by weight) can be used as an effective draw
solute component in
forward osmosis treatment of high TDS wastewater. The term "high TDS" is used
herein to refer
to concentrations of dissolved solids that are higher than seawater (which is
approximately 3%
or 3.5% by weight). These feed streams are difficult to treat since current
technologies, such as
reverse osmosis, are not able to dewater feed streams at salt concentrations
beyond
approximately 3%. Other technologies, such as crystallization or distillation,
are available, but,
as described above, they employ large amounts of energy, which is costly and
potentially
environmentally harmful.
[00118] The forward osmosis apparatus of the present application refers to
any
apparatus that conducts separation, concentration, filtration, and the like by
a forward osmosis
process. Accordingly, the forward osmosis apparatus is one that is useful for
performing a
method of artificially generating an osmotic pressure differential between a
draw solution of
high osmotic pressure and a feed stream of lower osmotic pressure (in relation
to the draw
solution) to cause water to migrate from the feed stream to dilute the draw
solution. The product
- 17 -
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-02-14
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
of the forward osmosis apparatus or process can be the water produced from
dilution of the
draw solution, or the resultant concentrated feed stream, or both.
[00119] In one exemplary embodiment, the present forward osmosis apparatus
and
process is useful for partial dewatering of wastewater (such as, but not
limited to produced
water or flowback water from fracking, municipal wastewater, industrial
wastewater, mining
wastewater), process water or other industrial aqueous solutions (whether
waste or in a
process). The osmosis concentrates the input wastewater/process
water/industrial aqueous
feed stream and produces a purified or partially purified water stream that
can be directly
recycled or disposed of, or further purified, polished or processed for
recycling or disposal.
Optionally, the purified water is further purified or polished in order to
produce potable water, or
agricultural water or other purified water having physical characteristics
(such as salt
concentration levels) as set or prescribed by it's ultimate use (e.g.,
environmental regulations).
In some alternatives the resulting concentrated feed stream can be used as
product or further
treated to isolate useful components.
[00120] In a particular embodiment, the present forward osmosis apparatus,
or system,
consists essentially of a concentrated draw solution in communication with a
semi-permeable
membrane configured for contact with an input feed stream. The apparatus can
comprise
various means for receiving the input feed stream and for flowing the feed
stream over or
across the semi-permeable membrane in order to facilitate movement of water
from the feed
stream, through the membrane and into the draw solution.
[00121] Concentrated Draw Solution
[00122] The concentrated draw solution used in the present forward osmosis
apparatus,
or system, and process, comprises a draw solute, which is ionized TMA and a
counterion, at a
concentration suitable to provide an osmotic pressure that is higher than that
of the feed stream
to be treated or dewatered. The counterion is selected based on its solubility
in water in its
ionized, or charged, form and its ability to convert into an uncharged form
that is readily
removed from water and converted back to its charged form for reformation of
the draw solute.
Preferably, the uncharged form of the counterion is volatile at ambient
temperature, or lower,
allowing it to readily separate from water in the dilute draw solution formed
from the forward
osmosis process.
[00123] In certain embodiments, the counterion is formed from an acid gas,
such as CO2,
CS2 or COS. Preferably the acid gas used to generate the counterion is CO2. In
this case the
-18-
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
draw solute comprises ionized TMA and a carbonate counterion, a bicarbonate
counterion, or a
mixture of carbonate and bicarbonate counterions.
[00124] The concentration of the draw solute in the concentrated draw
solution is at least
20% by weight. Alternatively, the concentration of the draw solute is at least
30% by weight, or
from about 20% to about 75% by weight, or from about 30% to about 70% by
weight. In certain
embodiments, the concentration of the draw solute in the concentrated draw
solution is
approximately 30% by weight or approximately 67% by weight. Selection of the
appropriate
concentration of the draw solute is based, in part, on the total dissolved
solid ("TDS")
concentration of the feed stream. Other factors that are taken into
consideration in determining
the concentration of the draw solute in the concentrated draw solution
include, for example, the
desired flux rate across the membrane, the operating temperature of the
system, and the
operating pressure of the system.
[00125] Feed Stream
[00126] The present forward osmosis apparatus and process is particularly
useful in the
treatment, or dewatering, of typically difficult to treat feed streams. Such
feed streams include,
but are not limited to, those characterized by high TDS, high acidity or high
basicity, low
temperature, presence of organic content, and/or presence of suspended solids.
In particular
embodiments, the forward osmosis apparatus and process is useful in the
treatment of feed
streams: comprising 5wt% total dissolved solids; at a temperature of 520 C or
at a
temperature between 30 C - 550 C; having a highly acidic pH or a basic pH;
comprising
organic content; and/or comprising suspended solids.
[00127] As shown in the Examples below, the present forward osmosis
apparatus and
system is effective in treating or dewatering feed streams, using a
concentrated draw solution,
that are high in total dissolved solids. This is in spite of the anticipated
difficulty, for example,
from increased viscosity, in using a draw solution comprising 20% or greater,
by weight, of the
draw solute. Exemplary results are summarized in the table below in comparison
to the
previously employed TMA-based forward osmosis systems:
Forward Osmosis Comparison Using Ionized TMA Draw Solution
Present FO System Elimelech et al. Ikeda et al.
Draw Solution (DS)
Conc. 66.2 and 33.1 11.08 25.3, 17.4,
and 10.3a
(wt% Ionized TMA)
Feed Solution (FS) 0.075-25 (NaCI) DI Water 0.1 (BSA)
Conc. (wt%) 0.26-10 (TDSb) 3.43 (NaCI)
-19-
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
Present FO System Elimelech et al. Ikeda et al.
HTI-TFC
Membrane TCM-1 HTI
HTI-CTA
3-5
Not stated
Temp 20-22 25
(Assumed to be 25)
30-35
Reported Values
Numerical values Range (less than/more
(Flux, Reverse Solute Numerical values
and Bar Charts than)
Flux)
Velocity (cm/s) 25.77 17.1 2
Counter current or
Flow type Cross-flow Parallel
cross-flow
For 66.2 wt% DS
35 (0.075% TDSd)
36 (0.078% TDSd)
33.6 (0.26% TDSd)
26.1 (3% NaCI)
20.4 (6% NaCI)
17.3 (6% TDS)
18(7% NaCI)
15.2 (9% NaCI)
15.0 (10% TDS)
11.0 (15% NaCI)
9.0 (18% NaCI)
4.0 (25% NaCI)
Temperature effect
14.5 (TFC) >5.4 (25.3
and 17.4%)
Water Flux (LMH) 13.7 (6% TDS, 3- ¨11 (CTA) 0.54-5.4 (10.3%)
C)
17.3 (6% TDS, 20-
22 C)
27.7 (6% TDS, 30-
35 C)
For 33.1 wt% DS
27 (0.075% TDSd)
32 (0.0775% TDSd)
27.4 (0.26% TDSd)
20.0 (3% NaCI)
11.0 (6% TDS)
11(7% NaCI)
8 (9% NaCI)
6.4 (10% TDS)
- 20 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
Present FO System Elimelech et al. Ikeda et al.
pH effect
12.9 (6% TDS, pH 3)
12.8 (6% TDS, pH 5)
11.0 (6% TDS, pH
6.5)
11.8(6% TDS, pH 8)
14.7 (6% TDS, pH
10)
Reverse Solute Flux 01-0.30 0.1 <0.1 (25.3
and 10.7%)
0.
(mol/m2.hr) 0.1-0.5 (17.4%)
a For Fujifilnn's CDS, although the TMA:CO2 molar ratio is 1:0.71 (TMA is in
excess), which indicates the
possibility of having C032-, it is assumed that the draw solution exists
mainly as TMAH-HCO3 when
performing the unit conversion; b TDS comprises of 97 wt% NaC1 and 3 wt%
CaCl2; c This number
changes depending on the membrane element and flow rate of liquid; d Oil & gas
process water TDS
consisted primarily of NaCI
e Depending on feed and draw solution combination
[00128] Of particular value, the present forward osmosis system and process
is useful in
treating complex wastestreams with minimal or no pre-treatment. These complex
waste
streams are characterized by high TDS concentrations and the presence of other
components
including, for example, suspended solids and/or organic material (e.g.,
organic compounds,
bacteria and the like).
[00129] Membrane
[00130] The herein described forward osmosis apparatus, or system, and
process,
comprises a semi-permeable membrane, which is permeable to water. The semi-
permeable
membrane is impermeable or minimally permeable to salts. As is known in the
field, various
materials can be used to manufacture the semi-permeable membrane and there are
commercially available membranes suitable for use in the present apparatus and
process. The
selection of the appropriate membrane will depend, in part, on the nature of
the input feed
stream and/or the required characteristics of the purified water output.
[00131] In one embodiment, the semi-permeable membrane comprises a pH
tolerance
within a pH range of 0 - 14; in another embodiment, the semi-permeable
membrane comprises
a pH tolerance within a pH range of 2- 13. In one embodiment, the semi-
permeable membrane
comprises a flux of 33 LMH when the feed solution is deionized water, and the
draw solution
has a solute concentration of 3 wt%; in another embodiment, the semi-permeable
membrane
comprises a flux of 533 LMH when the feed solution is deionized water, and the
draw solution
has a solute concentration of 3 wt%.
- 21 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
[00132] In one embodiment, the semi-permeable membrane comprises a reverse
salt
flux of 50.1 mol/m2h; in another embodiment, the semi-permeable membrane
comprises a
reverse salt flux of ?0.1 mol/m2h. In one embodiment, the semi-permeable
membrane
comprises a TDS rejection of a0 %; or, alternatively, between 94 - 99.9%; or,
alternatively,
[00133] In another embodiment, the semi-permeable membrane comprises a feed
solution temperature tolerance within a range of -10 - 70 C; in another
embodiment, the semi-
permeable membrane comprises a feed solution temperature tolerance within a
range of 0 -
60 C; or, alternatively, within a range of 3 - 50 C; or, alternatively, within
a range of 3 - 35 C.
[00134] As demonstrated in these results and the additional results in the
Examples
below, the present system is particularly useful in treating typically hard to
treat feed streams
using forward osmosis.
[00135] To gain a better understanding of the invention described herein,
the following
examples are set forth. It should be understood that these examples are for
illustrative
purposes only. Therefore, they should not limit the scope of this invention in
any way.
EXAMPLES
[00136] EXAMPLE 1: Forward Osmosis with NaCI Feed Solutions
[00137] Materials: Trimethylamine was purchased as an approximately 40 - 45
wt%
solution in water, and used as received from Sigma Aldrich. Coleman instrument
grade carbon
dioxide (99.99%) was purchased from Air Liquide. Deionized water (18 MO-cm)
was provided
using an Elga Purelab Pulse system. Stock feed solutions of sodium chloride at
given
concentrations were prepared in advance by dissolving sodium chloride in
deionized water.
Thin-film composite membranes (TCMs) were acquired from three different
commercial
membrane suppliers, each of varying thickness: 0.07 mm (TCM-1); 0.15 mm (TCM-
2); and 0.09
mm (TCM-3). Membranes were cut for testing (4 cm diameter), and conditioned by
soaking in
deionized water for a minimum of 30 minutes before use. Once wet, all
membranes were stored
in deionized water for the duration of testing.
[00138] Solutions: Stock draw solutions of approximately 66 wt% ionized
trimethylamine
were generated by carbonating 50 mL of aqueous trimethylamine in 75 mL high
pressure gas
- 22 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
reactors, at a pressure of 9 bar of carbon dioxide, using a 5000 Multiple
Reactor System from
Parr Instrument Company.
[00139] It is noted that, as the herein and below described stock draw
solutions are
generated from a purchased aqueous TMA solution with an approximate
concentration of 40 -
45 wt%, all herein reported ionized TMA concentrations are also approximate,
and may vary by
approximately 5 wt%, depending on the concentration of the aqueous TMA
solution.
[00140] Equipment and Analysis: The forward osmosis flow cell used for
this, and other
experiments, is depicted by Figure 1A. The flow cell comprised: (i) a pump to
circulate feed and
draw solutions; (ii) a membrane cartridge through which the solutions are
circulated; (iii) separate
reservoirs containing the feed and draw solutions; (iv) separate balances,
upon which the
reservoirs were placed, to measure mass changes with time; and, (v) connective
tubing
throughout.
[00141] Within the FO flow cell, as depicted in Figure 1A, the feed
solution was circulated
from the feed reservoir, through the pump, over the active/rejection side of
the membrane, and
back into the feed reservoir; the draw solution was simultaneously circulated
from the draw
reservoir, through the pump, over the support side of the membrane, and back
into the draw
reservoir; as the feed and draw solutions simultaneously passed over the
membrane, water
transferred from the feed solution across the membrane and into the draw
solution; and, the
reservoirs sat atop balances to record mass change of the solutions with time,
via a computer.
For each flow cell run, the mass change data were collected using Mettler
Toledo PG2002-S
balances, coupled to a computer with LabVIEW2012 software (National
Instruments).
[00142] GC-FID chromatograms were collected using a Varian 450-GC coupled
to a FID
detector, equipped with an Agilent CP-volamine column (30m x 0.32mm ID). The
temperature
profile for GC analysis was an initial temperature of 75 C held for 10 minutes
followed by ramping
at 5 C/min to 95 C and holding for 2 minutes. Helium was used as the carrier
gas at 5 mL/min
with an injection split ratio of 20:1. Isopropanol was used as an internal
standard for
quantification. Aqueous feed solution samples for GC-FID analysis were made by
combining
1 nnL of solution, with 10 pL of isopropanol and diluting to 10 nnL with
methanol, in a 10 nnL
volumetric flask. Ionized trimethylamine quantification was carried out by
integrating area of the
trimethylamine peak and isopropanol peak, then comparing to the calibration
curve shown in
Figure 1B.
- 23 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
[00143] Volumes: Please note that volumes of respective solutions were
varied only to
ensure immersion of tubing required to facilitate solution flow throughout the
forward osmosis
flow cell; or, to allow for the flow cell to be run for a longer time period.
[00144] Flux Calculations: Flux was calculated using the following
equation:
Flux = [Volume of water drawn across the membrane (L)] / [Area of Membrane
(m2)] /
[Unit of Time (h)]
[00145] Flux values were always measured over, and reported for, the first
hour of
operation. FO flow runs were often left to circulate for longer than 1 hour in
order to determine
membrane stability with time, changes in reverse salt flux with time, and
overall % reduction in
feed solution.
[00146] A spreadsheet, provided by the manufacturer of TCM-1, was used to
facilitate
calculation. Other options for calculating include graphing mass changes of a
feed or draw
solution with respect to time, dividing the mass change slope by membrane
area, and
converting units to L/m2/h.
[00147] Ionized trimethvlamine FT-IR Calibration: To develop a Fourier-
Transform
Infrared (FT-IR) calibration curve to analyze ionized trimethylamine,
approximately 2 drops of
each standard solution of varying concentration was deposited onto an ATR-FT-
IR sensor
(Agilent Cary 630 Ft-IR). A water spectrum was subtracted from the resulting
spectrum. Area
under curve, from 1440 to 1300 cm-1 centered at 1365 cm-1, was recorded and a
calibration
curve was generated to provide the equation (see Table 1C and Figure 1C):
wt% ionized trimethylamine = [Area]/2.6994
[00148] Representative Flow Cell Procedure for Forward Osmosis Under
Aerobic
Conditions: Conditioned membranes were loaded into a flow cell with the
membrane's
active/rejection layer orientated towards the feed solution. The cell was
flushed with 3x100 mL
portions of deionized water on both the feed and draw solution sides of the
membrane. Glass
bottles (250 mL) were used as reservoirs for the feed solution and draw
solution. To run the cell
under aerobic conditions, the bottles were left opened to air. Stock feed
solutions of sodium
chloride (3, 9 and 15 wt%) and 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine were prepared and
used, as
described above. Repeat runs were performed for each membrane at each salt
concentration
(two runs per feed/draw solution combination). A complete run was determined
by length of
time; some initial runs were 3 hours, while others were 6 hours.
- 24 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
[00149] Salt solution (200 mL) was loaded into the feed solution bottle,
and aqueous 66
wt% ionized trimethylamine (100 mL) was loaded into the draw solution bottle.
Tubing was
lowered into each solution so that it did not touch the sides or bottom of the
bottles. Data
collection was initiated on the LabView software, followed by starting a
circulating pump and
timer. After 30 seconds, the balances were tared and any data points before
this time were
removed from analysis. On an hourly basis, the pump was stopped and a sample
was taken
from the feed solution, by syringe, for GC-FID (1 mL) or FT-IR analysis (<0.2
mL).
[00150] Representative Flow Cell Procedure for Forward Osmosis Under Carbon
Dioxide
Environment: Conditioned membranes were loaded into the flow cell with the
active/rejection
layer orientated towards the feed solution. The cell was flushed with 3-100 mL
portions of
deionized water on both the feed and draw solution sides. 250 mL glass bottles
were used as
reservoirs for the feed solution and draw solution. Stock solutions of sodium
chloride (3, 9 and
15 wt%) and 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine were prepared and used, as described
above.
Repeat runs were done for each membrane at each salt concentration.
[00151] To place the cell under constant CO2 atmosphere, caps for the 250
mL bottles
were made with a Teflon liner. Holes were punctured though the liner to allow
tubing to be
passed through the liner and into the solutions. A gas manifold, with three
lines, was used to
flow CO2 through a needle into each bottle, and out of each bottle via a
bubbler. Check valves
were placed on each line to ensure that gaseous trimethylamine did not flow
back through the
lines and contaminate the CO2. Each bottle was purged with CO2 for several
seconds before
each run, with the tubing immersed in the solutions.
[00152] 200 mL of salt solution was loaded into the feed solution bottle,
and 100 mL of
aqueous 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine was loaded into the draw solution
bottle. Tubing was
lowered into each solution so that it did not touch the sides or bottom of the
bottles. Data
collection was initiated on the LabView software, followed by starting the
circulating pump and
timer. After 30 seconds, the balances were tared, and any data points before
this time were
removed from analysis. On an hourly basis, the pump was stopped and a sample
was taken
from the feed solution, by syringe, for GC-FID (1 mL) or FT-IR analysis (<0.2
mL).
[00153] Results and Discussion: A forward osmosis system was investigated
employing
a flow cell equipped with stock NaCI feed solutions, ionized trimethylamine
draw solutions, and
membranes from three commercial suppliers (membranes TCM-1, TCM-2, and TCM-3).
See
Table 1.
- 25 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
[00154] As outlined in Table 1, a flux of 26 Um2h (LMH) was measured from a
flow cell
equipped with a TCM-1 membrane, a feed solution of 3 wt% NaCI, and a draw
solution of 66
wt% ionized trimethylamine. It was observed that the flux value of 26 LMH was
comparable to
reported reverse osmosis (RO) seawater desalination flux values (30-40 LMH);
taking into
consideration that 55-80 bar of pressure is generally required for RO systems,
and the FO
system herein described was operating at an ambient pressure of 1 bar. As
expected, flux
values, as calculated over the first 60 minutes of each run, decreased as
salinity of feed
solution increased (see Figure 2). High salinity feed solutions of 18 wt%
sodium chloride and
brine were also treated using a FO flow cell equipped with a 1CM-1 membrane.
Flux across the
membrane from the feed solution to the draw solution was observed at a value
of 9.1 LMH and
4.6 LMH for 18 wt% NaCI and brine, respectively. This suggested that the
herein described FO
systems may be applicable to dewatering solutions with high salinity.
[00155] The amount of ionized trimethylamine that crossed the membrane from
the draw
solution into the feed solution, referred to as reverse salt flux, was
determined by GC-FID or
FT-IR analysis by either testing for the presence of free trimethylamine (TMA)
with GC-FID, or
ionized TMA with FT-IR; see Table 2. The draw solute reverse salt flux was
generally small,
with <1% ionized trimethylamine as draw solute migrating across the membrane
into the feed
solution.
[00156] It was observed that, when using TCM-2 or TCM-3 membranes, flux was
generally lower and reverse salt flux of draw solute was generally higher.
Without wishing to be
bound by theory, it was considered that this was indicative of the TCM-1
membrane's stability
being relatively higher than that of the TCM-2 or TCM-3 membranes.
Nonetheless, in each
case effective FO was observed in that there was significant concentration of
the feed solution.
[00157] An approximately 33 wt% ionized trimethylamine solution was
evaluated for use
as a FO draw solution; it was postulated that a reduced concentration of draw
solute may
provide a benefit of less draw solute needing to be removed following a
forward osmosis
process. Thus, a flow cell was equipped and run with a 1CM-1 or a TCM-2
membrane,
respectively, a 3 wt% NaCI feed solution, and a 33 wt% ionized trimethylamine
draw solution
(see Figure 3).
[00158] It was observed that, for the flow cell equipped with the TCM-1
membrane, the
flux measured did not significantly decrease with dilution of the draw
solution; for example: 26.1
LMH flux with 66 wt% draw solution; versus 20.0 LMH flux with 33 wt% draw
solution. Further, it
was observed that % reverse salt flux remained low, at <0.5% (see Table 3).
- 26 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
[00159] A FO flow cell, equipped with a TCM-1 membrane, a 3 wt% NaCI feed
solution,
and a 33 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution, was run for 28 consecutive
days to
investigate the long term performance stability of the system. Both the feed
solution and draw
solution were refreshed every 24 hours, while the membrane was not changed.
Mass change of
the feed and draw solution was constantly monitored, the mass changes of which
were plotted
against time, revealing a fairly consistent trend over the course of 28 days
(see Figure 4). On
average, the flux value recorded for the system was 18.9 LMH; a substantial
decrease in flux
over 28 days was not observed (see Figure 5).
[00160] Amount of reverse salt flux of the draw solute into the feed
solution, after two
hours of operation, was determined by GC-FID analysis (see Figure 6). Over the
28 days, the
reverse salt flux amount at each time interval remained largely unchanged
(average 0.028 wt%
or 280 ppm); as such, it was postulated that little to no membrane degradation
was occurring.
[00161] EXAMPLE 2: Forward Osmosis with Waste Water
[00162] Waste water is defined by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency
as any water which, during manufacturing or processing, comes into direct
contact with or
results from the production or use of any raw material, intermediate product,
finished product,
byproduct, or waste product; consequently, waste water, or process water, can
vary in
composition depending on the source. Generally, process water contains a
higher
concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS), and organic content, than
seawater. To simulate
process water as a feed solution, high TDS solutions were prepared by
incorporating a divalent
salt, calcium chloride. A ratio of NaCI to CaCl2 was set at 97:3, such that
the 6 wt% TDS feed
solution comprised 5.82% NaCI and 0.18% CaCl2, and the 10 wt% TDS feed
solution
comprised 9.7% NaCI and 0.3% CaCl2.
[00163] Both 6% TDS and 10% TDS feed solutions were used in a forward
osmosis flow
cell with 33 wt% and 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solutions (Figures 7
and 8).
[00164] Experimental: Stock solutions of approximately 66 wt% ionized
trimethylamine
were produced by carbonating 2 L portions of a 45 wt% aqueous trimethylamine
solution in a 1
gallon stainless steel Chemineer reactor, at 10 bar for 30 minutes. The
resulting stock solution
is referred to as the "concentrated draw solution." Solutions of 33 wt%
ionized trimethylamine
were produced by diluting the concentrated draw solution by half. Stock feed
solutions
comprising 6% total dissolved solids (5.82% sodium chloride; 0.18 % calcium
chloride; 94%
deionized water) and 10% total dissolved solids (9.7% sodium chloride; 0.3%
calcium chloride;
- 27 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
90% deionized water) were prepared by dissolving the requisite amount of salt
into the
appropriate amount of deionized water.
[00165] Conditioned 1CM-1 membranes were loaded into a flow cell with the
active/rejection layer orientated towards the feed solution. The cell was
flushed with 3x100 mL
portions of deionized water on both the feed and draw solution sides of the
membrane. Glass
bottles (250 mL) were used as reservoirs to contain the feed solution and draw
solution.
Duplicate runs of 3 hours were completed for each feed/draw combination.
[00166] High TDS salt solution (200 mL) was loaded into the feed solution
bottle, and
draw solution (100 mL) was loaded into the draw solution bottle. Tubing was
lowered into each
solution so that it did not touch the sides or bottom of the solution-
containing bottles. Data
collection was initiated on the LabView software, followed by starting a
circulating pump and
timer. After 30 seconds, the balances upon which the solution bottles were
placed were tared,
and any data points collected before this time were removed from analysis (See
Example 1;
Figure 1A). On an hourly basis, the pump was stopped and a sample was taken
from the feed
solution, by syringe, for reverse salt flux analysis. Reverse salt flux
amounts were determined
by FT-IR analysis using a Cary 630 FT-IR spectrometer purchased from Agilent
Technologies;
data analysis was performed with MicroLab software (see Example 1; Figure 1C)
using a
calibration curve prepared with known amounts of trimethylamine salt.
[00167] Results and Discussion: The calcium ions were incorporated into the
stock feed
solutions to simulate actual process wastewater, since such water is known to
contain divalent
salts, such as calcium salts. It is known, however, that calcium can lead to
lime scale formation
in FO systems, which could also contribute to membrane failure. It was also
postulated that,
with respect to the herein described FO system, introduction of calcium ions
could cause a flux
decrease due to their being divalent cations: ion-ion interactions and
hydration spheres of such
divalent species can be different from those that occur within monovalent
systems (e.g., NaCI).
[00168] As shown in Table 4, a flux of 17 LMH was achieved in a flow cell
equipped with
a TCM-1 membrane, a 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution, and a 6 wt%
TDS feed
solution. It was observed that flux did not significantly decrease when a 10
wt% TDS feed
solution was in the flow cell (15.0 LMH). As expected, the observed flux from
the 33 wt% draw
solution was overall lower than for the 66 wt% solution, given the draw
solution's lower ionic
strength.
[00169] It was observed that the flux for the 6 wt% TDS feed solution was
slightly lower
than that observed for a 6 wt% NaCI system: 17 LMH versus 20 LMH, with a 66
wt% draw
- 28 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
solution. This was expected since addition of CaCl2 generates three ionic
species in solution
(1xCa+; 2xCl-), such that this feed solution had an ionic strength that was
higher than that of an
equivalent weight percent NaCI feed solution, and, consequently there was less
difference
between the ionic strength of the feed solution and the draw solution.
[00170] As depicted in Figures 7 and 8, the rate at which the draw solution
increased in
mass during dewatering of the feed solution by FO decreased as the feed
solution's salt
concentration increased (please note: previously described results for 3, 6
and/or 9 wt% NaCI
feed solutions are included in Figures 7 and 8 for comparison).
[00171] Reverse salt flux of draw solute into the feed solution was
monitored hourly by
FT-IR spectroscopy (see Table 5). It was observed that a greater degree of
reverse salt flux
occurred when higher concentration draw solutions were used (66 wt% versus 33
wt%). It was
postulated that this was due to less amine interacting with the flow cell's
membrane as a
consequence of the draw solution's dilute nature, thus decreasing reverse salt
flux potential.
Further, it was observed that, as the feed solution's TDS increased, the
amount of draw solute
reverse salt flux decreased; for example, after 180 min, a 0.064 wt% reverse
salt flux was
observed for a flow cell equipped with a 6 wt% TDS feed solution and 66 wt%
draw solution; as
compared to 0.024 wt% for a flow cell equipped with a 10 wt% TDS feed solution
and 66 wt%
draw solution (see Table 5). It was postulated that this was due to an
increase in the feed
solution's ionic strength, thus interfering with draw solute cross flow.
[00172] Overall, it was observed that incorporation of CaCl2 into feed
solutions of the
herein described FO flow cells did not result in a significant decrease in
flux values, as
measured for systems using a 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution.
Further, there
were no significant lime scale deposits observed within the FO flow cell over
the course of each
run. The use of the higher concentration draw solution in the FO system
successfully
dewatered the simulated process water samples.
[00173] EXAMPLE 3: Variation in Temperature of Feed Solution
[00174] It is understood that a feed solution's temperature will be
dependent on a
number of factors, including, for example, the geographical region in which a
FO flow cell is
deployed, the source of the feed stream (e.g., industrial process water may be
at a higher or
lower temperature depending on the process), and pre-treatment steps prior to
introduction of
the feed solution into a FO flow cell. In order to evaluate any temperature
effects on the FO flow
cell as herein described, comprising an ionized trimethylamine draw solution,
the feed solution's
- 29 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
temperature was varied; and, separately, the temperature of both the feed
solution and draw
solution was varied.
[00175] To investigate the effect of temperature, a flow cell was equipped
with an ionized
trimethylamine draw solution, a high TDS feed solution, a TCM-1 membrane
having a
maximum recommended operating temperature of 45 C. Consequently, temperature
minima
and maxima were set to 3 to 5 C and 30 to 35 C, respectively.
[00176] Experimental: Stock draw solutions comprising 66 wt% ionized
trimethylamine,
and stock feed solutions comprising 6 wt% total dissolved solids (5.82 %
sodium chloride and
0.18 % calcium chloride) were prepared as described above.
[00177] The membrane was conditioned as described above, and loaded into a
flow cell
with the active/rejection layer orientated towards the feed solution. The
system was flushed with
deionized water on both the feed and draw solution sides of the membrane.
Jacketed beakers
(500 mL) were used as reservoirs for the feed solution and draw solution.
Temperature control
was achieved by attaching a heater/chiller to the jacketed beaker, and running
a coil through
the feed and draw solutions. Solutions were allowed to equilibrate at the
desired temperature
for 30 minutes prior to the start of an FO run. Repeat runs were done for each
temperature
value.
[00178] Salt solution (250 mL) was loaded into the feed solution reservoir,
and aqueous
66 wt% ionized trimethylamine (150 mL) were loaded into the draw solution
reservoir. Tubing
was lowered into each solution so that it did not touch the sides or bottom of
the reservoir. Data
collection was initiated on the LabView software, followed by starting the
circulating pump and
timer. After 30 seconds, the balances upon which the solutions were positioned
were tarred,
and any data points before this time were removed from analysis (See Example
1; Figure 1A).
On an hourly basis, the pump was stopped, and a sample was taken from the feed
solution, by
syringe, for reverse salt flux analysis. Reverse salt flux amounts were
determined by FT-IR
analysis using a Cary 630 FT-IR spectrometer purchased from Agilent
Technologies; data
analysis was performed with MicroLab software (see Example 1; Figure 1C).
[00179] Results and Discussion: The TCM-1 membrane's recommended operating
temperatures were up to 45 C; further, once the membranes were wet, they were
not allowed to
freeze. To prevent degradation of the chosen membrane from affecting the
overall results, the
temperature ranges for the draw and/or feed solutions were selected to be
between 3 to 5 C
and 30 to 35 C.
- 30 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
[00180] Initial experiments comprised varying only the feed solution's
temperature; later
experiments varied both the feed and draw solution temperatures. At higher
temperatures, it
was expected that there would be better solute dissolution and mixing at the
membrane for the
feed and draw solution. It was postulated that this would reduce formation of
internal
concentration polarizations at the membrane surface, and/or within the
membrane itself,
potentially resulting in higher flux values. Concentration polarizations
result from a build up of
concentration gradients, in or around the membrane: either internal
concentration polarization
(ICP) or external concentration polarization (ECP). They decrease the
effective osmotic
pressure difference across the membrane, which means lower flux. Further, at
lower
temperatures, CO2 solubility increases; consequently, it was expected that
lower temperatures
would facilitate maintaining equilibrium between the ionized and non-ionized
draw solute,
wherein the ionized solute was favored. It was postulated that this would
potentially result in
decreased reverse salt flux of the draw solute into the feed solution. It was
also understood
that, when only varying the temperature of one solution, that a temperature
gradient may be
generated across the membrane.
[00181] When increasing the feed solution's temperature, it was observed
that a greater
mass of water was transported across the membrane; decreasing the temperature
decreased
the mass of water transported (see Figure 9). Measured flux values further
confirmed these
trends, as flux increased to 28 LMH at 35 C and decreased to 14 LMH at 5 C,
where typical flux
values observed at room temperature were between 17 to 19 LMH (see Table 6).
It is possible
that the observed increase in flux at higher temperatures could be slightly
impacted by
evaporation of the feed solution.
[00182] Reverse salt flux of draw solute into the feed solution was
measured hourly by
FT-IR spectroscopy (see Table 7). As the feed solution's temperature was
decreased, there
was an observed slight decrease in reverse salt flux. When the feed solution's
temperature was
increased, the observed reverse salt flux was similar in magnitude to that
observed at room
temperature. This suggested that there is little overall effect of temperature
on reverse salt flux.
[00183] Additional experiments were conducted wherein the temperature of
both the
feed and draw solutions were varied. It was considered, however, that varying
the draw
solution's temperature may affect mixing at the membrane surface and CO2
solubility, which is
inversely proportional to temperature; it was also considered that higher
temperatures may
facilitate evaporation of trimethylamine, which exists in equilibrium with the
ionized
trimethylamine draw solute.
- 31 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
[00184] When the temperature of both solutions was increased, an initial
decrease in
draw solution mass was observed (Figure 10) along with a visually observed
increase in gas
evolution (e.g., bubbles escaping the solution). This was considered the
result of decreased
CO2 solubility with increasing temperature; and, potentially, evaporation of
trimethylamine. Flux
values were determined based on the feed solution's mass decrease over the
first hour of flow
cell operation (see Table 6). A decrease in flux was observed when the
solutions were at a
lower temperature: 19 LMH at room temperature to 15 LMH at 5 C. An increase in
flux was
observed when the solutions were at a higher temperature: 19 LMH at room
temperature to 24
LMH at 35 C.
[00185] When varying the temperature of both the feed and draw solutions, a
larger
variation in the reverse salt flux of the draw solute into the feed solution
was observed (see
Table 8). At lower temperatures, reverse salt flux was almost half of that
observed at room
temperature; at higher temperatures, reverse salt flux increased by
approximately 10%.
[00186] The lower and upper temperatures limits of 3 to 5 C and 30 to 35
C,
respectively, were chosen to investigate how the FO flow cell would respond to
fluctuations in
temperature. That only small changes were observed for the measured flux and
reverse salt
flux values demonstrates that the herein described FO flow cell, equipped with
ionized
trimethylamine as a draw solute, is robust in that it can be successfully
employed at a wide
range of temperatures. It was considered, however, that the draw solution may
be best
maintained at, or below room temperature during operation to promote
dissolution of CO2, and
maintain high concentrations of ionized trimethylamine.
[00187] EXAMPLE 4: Variation in pH of Feed Solution
[00188] Wastewater pH can also vary depending on its source (e.g., rock
formation,
industrial process). To investigate effect of pH on the herein described FO
flow cell, equipped
with an ionized trimethylamine draw solution, feed solutions of varying pH
were prepared using
sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid to simulate wastewaters of varying pH.
A stock solution
comprising 6 wt% total dissolved solids (5.82% NaCI, 0.18% CaCl2), with an
initial pH of 6.5,
was used and its pH adjusted to obtain feed solutions of pH 3, 5, 8 and 10
(see Figure 11).
Addition of sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid was not expected to
significantly increase
the amount of total dissolved solids.
[00189] Experimental: Stock solutions of 33 wt% and 66 wt% ionized
trimethylamine
were produced as described above. Stock solutions comprising 6 wt% total
dissolved solids
- 32 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
(5.82 % sodium chloride and 0.18 % calcium chloride) were prepared as
described above and
pH adjusted through addition of solid sodium hydroxide or 1M hydrochloric
acid.
[00190] Membranes, conditioned as described above, were loaded into the
flow cell with
the active/rejection layer orientated towards the feed solution. The flow cell
was flushed with
3x100 mL portions of deionized water on both the feed and draw solution sides
of the
membrane. Glass bottles (250 mL) were used as reservoirs for the feed solution
and draw
solution. Repeat runs were completed for each pH value.
[00191] pH adjusted salt solution (200 mL) was loaded into the feed
solution bottle, and
aqueous 33 wt% ionized trimethylamine (100 mL) was loaded into the draw
solution bottle.
Tubing was lowered into each solution so that it did not touch the sides or
bottom of the bottles.
Data collection was initiated on the LabView software, followed by starting
the circulating pump
and timer. After 30 seconds, the balances upon which the solutions were
positioned were
tarred, and data points before this time were removed from analysis (see
Example 1; Figure
1A). On an hourly basis, the pump was stopped and a sample was taken from the
feed solution,
by syringe, for reverse salt flux analysis. Reverse salt flux amounts were
determined by FT-IR
analysis using a Cary 630 FT-IR spectrometer purchased from Agilent
Technologies; data
analysis was performed with MicroLab software (see Example 1; Figure 1C).
[00192] Results and Discussion: To investigate the effect of feed solution
pH on the
herein described FO flow cell, a TOM-1 membrane was selected, the membrane
having a
recommended operating pH from 2 to 11. The pH of the feed solutions was varied
from 3 to 10.
[00193] It was determined that the feed solution has a baseline pH of 6.5,
and generates
an average flux of 11.0 LMH when using 33 wt% ionized trimethylamine as the
draw solution.
As summarized in Table 9, it was observed that changing the pH of the feed
solution resulted in
a flux increase for all pH values, coinciding with the change in mass of the
draw solution (see
Figure 11). It was observed that that each of the pH adjusted feed solutions
returned to a pH
between 6 and 6.5 after the 3 h FO run. It was postulated that this was due to
reverse salt flux
of draw solute into the feed solution, wherein the ionized trimethylamine was
acting as a known
buffer system.
[00194] Reverse salt flux of draw solute into the feed solution was
monitored hourly by
FT-IR spectroscopy (see Table 10). It was observed that the initial 6 wt% TDS
solution had a
pH of 6.5; as the pH deviated from 6.5, reverse salt flux increased, with the
highest reverse salt
flux being observed from solutions at the upper and lower limits of the pH
range studied.
- 33 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
[00195] EXAMPLE 5: Treatment of Oil & Gas Wastewater
[00196] An application of the herein described FO flow cell, equipped with
an ionized
trimethylamine draw solution, is remediation of wastewater from oil and gas
industries. To
demonstrate this application of the present FO system, samples of process
water from the oil
and gas industry were acquired, and used as feed solutions to be dewatered by
the herein
described FO flow cell.
[00197] Experimental: Stock solutions of 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine were
produced
by carbonating 2 L portions of a 45 wt% aqueous trimethylamine solution in a 1
gallon stainless
steel Chemineer reactor, at 10 bar for 30 minutes.
[00198] Three types of process water were acquired for testing: (i) a
brackish water; (ii) a
de-oiled, post-skimming water, pre-softening treatment (deoiled water being
process water from
an underground aquifer); and (iii) a weak acid cation exchanged water, post-
softening treatment
(deoiled water from an underground aquifer, treated via a weak acid cation
exchange). Each
sample of wastewater comprised <1 wt% TDS.
[00199] Conditioned TCM-1 membranes were loaded into a flow cell with the
active/rejection layer orientated towards the feed solution. The cell was
flushed with 3x100 mL
portions of deionized water on both the feed and draw solution sides of the
membrane. Glass
bottles (250 mL) were used as reservoirs to contain the feed solution and draw
solution.
Duplicate runs were completed for each feed/draw combination over 3 hours.
[00200] Process water (200 mL) was loaded into the feed solution bottle,
and draw
solution (100-150 mL) was loaded into the draw solution bottle. Tubing was
lowered into each
solution so that it did not touch the sides or bottom of the solution-
containing bottles. Data
collection was initiated on the LabView software, followed by starting a
circulating pump and
timer (see Example 1; Figure 1A) After 30 seconds, the balances upon which the
solution
bottles were placed were tarred, and any data points collected before this
time were removed
from analysis. On an hourly basis, the pump was stopped and a sample was taken
from the
feed solution, by syringe, for reverse salt flux analysis. Reverse salt flux
amounts were
determined by FT-IR analysis using a Cary 630 FT-IR spectrometer purchased
from Agilent
Technologies; data analysis was performed with MicroLab software (see Example
1; Figure
1C). ICP-OES analysis was completed by Queen's University Analytical Services
Unit (QASU,
Kingston, ON); see Table 25.
[00201] Results and Discussion: Three samples of steam assisted gravity
drainage
(SAG-D) process water were obtained from a Canadian oil and gas company): (i)
brackish
- 34 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
water (brackish); (ii) deoiled, pre-softening water (deoiled); and(iii) water
softened using a
weak-acid cation exchange column (WAC). The samples were obtained from active
SAG-D
systems, and were representative of relatively challenging feed solutions
given their
concentration of total suspended solids. As described above, small-scale FO
studies were
completed using the wastewaters as feed solutions, with a 66 wt% ionized
trimethylamine draw
solution; and, after 3 hours of continuous operation, a 50 ¨ 60% reduction in
mass was
reproducibly observed. This corresponded to a flux of 34-36 L/m2h, which was
found to be
comparable to RO flux values observed using seawater as a feed stream under
typical
desalination conditions [http://www.gewater.com/products/industrial-
membranes.html, accessed
March 13, 2015; http://www.lgwatersolutions.com/, accessed March 13, 2015].
[00202] Referring to Figure 13 and Table 11, it was demonstrated that the
FO system as
described herein continued to dewater the feed solution(s); it was postulated
that further
concentration of said feed solution could be achieved, given that no
significant decrease in de-
watering activity was observed, if the system had been allowed to run longer.
Reverse salt flux
of the draw solute into the feed solution was slightly higher than that
observed when using
simulated solutions (see above Examples). This was expected, since the feed
solutions
comprised lower TDS, and thus had lower ionic strength, and were generally
more susceptible
to diffusion of draw solute across the membrane. A % TDS rejection of >94% was
observed, as
determined by ICP (Table 25).
[00203] EXAMPLE 6: Mining Tailings
[00204] Generating Mining Water Sample: Samples of "dry" tailings, which
more closely
resembled mud, were received from a Canadian mining organization. To generate
aqueous
samples, tailing solids (250 g) were combined with water (750 mL) to give a 25
wt% solids
sample, to mimic a mining slurry. The aqueous sample was then stirred at 650
rpm with an
overhead stirrer (4-blade propeller) for 24 hours. It was recommended by the
supplier to fitter
these samples using a 0.5-micron filter for removing solids (based on their
current practices);
however, due to availability, an extra fine filter paper was used (Whatman #5
= 2.5 urn). This
procedure was performed twice to generate sufficient amount of water for
testing.
[00205] Batch Sample #1: 251.58 g Mud + 751.75 g DI water to give 1003.33 g
total
(25.07 wt%; conductivity = 340 uS/cm; pH = 3.75)
[00206] Batch Sample #2: 303.32 g Mud + 910.29 g DI water to give 1213.61 g
total
(24.99 wt%; conductivity = 393 uS/cm; pH = 4)
- 35 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
[00207] Batch sample #2 was added to batch sample #1, and conductivity was
measured after combination (please note that, within experimental error, 340
and 393 JS were
considered comparable).
[00208] A draw solution containing 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine in water
was
generated by carbonating 2 L batches of -45 wt% trimethylamine in water, using
a Chennineer
reactor. The resultant stock ionized trimethylamine solution was kept sealed
in a glass bottle.
[00209] 1CM-1 membranes were shipped dry, and labeled with which was an
active
side. Before use, the membrane was soaked in deionized water for at least 30
min to open its
pores. After soaking, the membrane was kept moist by storing in water. As
needed, circles of
membrane (4 cm in diameter) were cut from a sheet of said membrane, and soaked
for a
minimum of 30 min prior to use. The membrane was cut so that it would fit
within an o-ring
contained within the flow cell's membrane cartridge (see Example 1; Figure
1A), to minimize
leaking of liquid around the cell.
[00210] Forward Osmosis Flow Cell: A forward osmosis (FO) flow cell was
then set up,
using a draw solution of 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine in water (500 mL), a
batch sample feed
solution (500 mL), and a TCM-1 membrane, as described in Example 1, and Figure
1A.
[00211] The FO flow cell was run under air, and continued running until the
feed and
draw solutions' mass changes reached a plateau. A repeat trial of the FO run
was done to
determine reproducibility. Removal of draw solute from the resultant, diluted
draw solution was
accomplished by bubbling nitrogen through the solution while heating it in an
85 C metal heat-
on (manufactured by Radleys; solution temperature - 70 C) (2L flask). A
condenser was
attached to the outlet of the draw solution-containing flask so that minimal
water loss occurred.
[00212] External analytics were completed by Caduceon (see Tables 12 and
13).
[00213] After the first FO run, to allow for analysis, the feed solution
required a three
times dilution in order to have enough solution for analysis (40 mL of
concentrated feed was
diluted to 120 mL)
[00214] Determining Solids Content in Original Aqueous Sample: The samples
of "dry"
tailings, which more closely resembled mud, were filtered through a 2.5 urn
filter paper, and
dried in a Buchner funnel by gravity, overnight. Initial weight was recorded
at 100.25 g, with
weight after drying overnight being recorded at 82.13 g; this corresponded to
a weight loss of
18.12 g (18%). It was considered that any liquid in tailings, making the
sample more closely
- 36 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
resemble mud, could have been of a volatile nature: after drying over night,
there was no liquid
remaining in the filtration flask.
[00215] Results and Discussion: Mining tailing samples were successfully
treated using
an ionized trimethylamine draw solute for forward osmosis. Flux values between
23 and 25
LMH, and a 60-90% reduction in feed solution mass were achieved using a 66 wt%
ionized
trimethylamine draw solution (see Table 14). Draw solute reverse salt flux
(reverse salt flux)
was found to be relatively high after 48 hours of testing; however, this is
expected to be lower in
a non-circulating batch system (e.g., a system wherein each unit of volume of
feed and draw
solution makes only one pass by the FO membrane); see Table 15. The FO cell,
as used and
described herein, demonstrated a relatively high arsenic rejection (<1 ppm in
the recovered
water) as compared to Canada's Ministry of Environment's acceptable arsenic
levels of 25 ppm
(see Tables 12 and 13. This example demonstrated the successful use of the FO
system, with
the ionized trimethylamine draw solute, in the treatment of typically hard to
treat waste streams
from mining.
[00216] EXAMPLE 7: Treatment of Municipal Wastewater
[00217] Stock solutions of 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine were produced by
carbonating
2 L portions of a 45 wt% aqueous trimethylamine solution, in a 1 gallon
stainless steel
Chemineer reactor, at 10 bar for 30 minutes. Concentrated municipal wastewater
(from China)
was received from a Chinese wastewater treatment company. Initial pH and
conductivity of the
wastewater was 6.99 and 10.8 mS/cm, respectively; the feed solution was not
pre-treated.
TCM-1 membranes, conditioned as described above (see Example 1), were loaded
into a FO
flow cell with their active/rejection layer orientated towards the feed
solution. The cell was
flushed with 3x100 mL portions of deionized water on both the feed and draw
solution sides of
the membrane. Glass bottles (500 mL) were used as reservoirs to contain the
feed solution and
draw solution. Each run was conducted until a plateau was reached in the
change in mass of
feed and draw solutions, and completed in duplicate.
[00218] Wastewater (500 mL) was loaded into the feed solution bottle, and
draw solution
(200 mL) was loaded into the draw solution bottle. Tubing was lowered into
each solution so
that it did not touch the sides or bottom of the solution-containing bottles.
Data collection was
initiated on LabView software, followed by starting a circulating pump and
timer. After 30
seconds, the balances upon which the solution bottles were placed were tared,
and any data
points collected before this time were removed from analysis (see Example 1;
Figure 1A).
Periodically, the pump was stopped and a sample was taken from the feed
solution, by syringe,
for reverse salt flux analysis. Reverse salt flux amounts were determined by
FT-IR analysis
- 37 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
using a Cary 630 FT-IR spectrometer purchased from Agilent Technologies; data
analysis was
performed with MicroLab software (see Example 1; Figure 1C).
[00219] Results and Discussion: Using the herein described FO flow cell
and process, a
reduction in wastewater mass (-60%), conductivity, and total phosphorus
content (as measured
by ICP-OES) was achieved for the feed solutions and/or the water isolated
therefrom, without
employing any pretreatment (see Table 16). Further, average flux values of 35
LMH were found
to be comparable to RO seawater desalination flux values (30-40 LMH). The
chemical oxygen
demand (COD) remained high after draw solute removal; however, COD values are
dependent
on concentration of organics in a sample (e.g., amounts of residual draw
solute in recovered
water). Wtthout wishing to be bound by theory, it is expected that an
additional treatment step
to remove residual draw solute from the FO recovered water, and thus present a
lower COD.
[00220] This example demonstrates the successful use of the present FO
system,
incorporating a draw solution wtth an ionized trimethylamine draw solute, in
the treatment of
concentrated municipal wastewater, which is difficult or expensive to treat
using currently
available methods.
[00221] EXAMPLE 8: Treatment of Produced Water and Flowback Water from
Fracking
Operations
[00222] Stock solutions of 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine were produced by
carbonating
2 L portions of a 45 wt% aqueous trimethylamine solution, in a 1 gallon
stainless steel
Chennineer reactor, at 10 bar for 30 minutes.
[00223] Produced wastewater was received from a Canadian fracking operation
(northern Alberta) with initial pH and conductivities of 6.47 and 191 mS/cm,
respectively; initial
TDS was approximately 19 wt%.
[00224] A first, initial FO run was completed with no pretreatment of the
feed solution.
Additional runs were then completed using a filtered and softened sample of
feed solution.
Filtering was done using extra fine (Whatman #5) filter paper. Softening of
the feed solution
was completed while monitoring pH: with stirring, NaOH (3.3 mg/mL) was added
to the filtered
feed solution; after stirring for 30 min, the solution was filtered again;
sodium carbonate (15.4
mg/mL) was then added to the solution, and stirred for an additional 30 min;
and then, said
resultant solution was filtered and neutralized with HCI. Forward osmosis was
also undertaken
using a sample softened with only sodium carbonate, followed by filtering and
neutralization
with HCI; or, by only adding sodium carbonate.
- 38 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
[00225] Flowback feed solution was also obtained from the Canadian fracking
operations
(conductivity = 130.4 mS/cm, pH = 6.38), and was processed after filtering
through a course
filter paper. Initial TDS of the solution was ¨13 wt%.
[00226] Conditioned membranes (see Example 1) were loaded into a FO flow
cell with
the membrane's active/rejection layer orientated towards the feed solution.
The cell was flushed
with 3x100 mL portions of deionized water on both the feed and draw solution
sides of the
membrane. Glass bottles (250 or 500 mL) were used as reservoirs to contain the
feed solution
and draw solution. Each run was allowed to reach equilibrium and performed in
duplicate.
[00227] Produced or flowback water (200 or 500 mL) was loaded into the feed
solution
bottle, and concentrated draw solution (200 or 500 mL) was loaded into the
draw solution
bottle. Tubing was lowered into each solution so that it did not touch the
sides or bottom of the
solution-containing bottles. Data collection was initiated on the LabView
software, followed by
starting a circulating pump and timer. After 30 seconds, the balances upon
which the solution
bottles were placed were tarred, and any data points collected before this
time were removed
from analysis (see Example 1; Figure 1A). Periodically, the pump was stopped
and a sample
was taken from the feed solution, by syringe, for reverse salt flux analysis.
Reverse salt flux
amounts were determined by FT-IR analysis using a Cary 630 FT-IR spectrometer
purchased
from Agilent Technologies; data analysis was performed with MicroLab software
(see Example
1; Figure 1C).
[00228] Results and Discussion: With respect to the produced wastewater
feed
solutions, it was found that they each possessed a high calcium content that
could lead to
scaling; thus softening was required. It was found that use of the herein
described FO flow cell
lead to an overall reduction in feed solution mass by approximately 20% for
the produced water
system; flux was calculated to be approximately 9 LMH with a TCM-1 membrane.
By way of the
standard softening methods employed for treatment of the produced water,
precipitation in the
concentrated feed solution was avoided. The recovered water after draw solute
removal was
below a desired 4000 ppm (as requested by the frack operator for their own
processing
requirements), and represented a 99.9% rejection of TDS (see Table 17). ICP-
OES results
showed a concentration of elements in the feed solution after the FO process
(see Table 18)
[00229] FO processing of the flowback water showed a 40% reduction in mass
of the
feed solution, with a flux of approximately 15 LMH (see Table 19). The
recovered water after
draw solution removal was well below the desired 4000 ppm and represented a
99.6% rejection
of TDS (see Table 20). ICP-OES results showed a concentration of elements in
the feed
solution after FO treatment (see Table 21). The %TOC rejection was lower than
desired;
- 39 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
however, this value is dependent on concentration of organics in a sample
(e.g. amounts of
residual draw solute in recovered water); see Table 20. Without wishing to be
bound by theory,
it is anticipated that the system can be readily optimized to reduce the
residual draw solute in
the FO recovered water, and thus present a higher %TOC rejection.
[00230] EXAMPLE 9: FO analysis using hollow-fiber modules as membranes
[00231] Two types of hollow-fiber membrane modules (HFM-1 and HFM-2),
provided by
a fourth commercial membrane supplier, were evaluated using simulated feed
solutions and
ionized trimethylamine draw solutions. Generally, with hollow-fiber membranes,
a relatively
higher membrane surface area can be obtained in a small module footprint.
[00232] Experimental: The HEM-1 and HFM-2 modules were a hollow fiber
system,
where a feed solution ran outside the fibers (active layer faces feed
solution), and a draw
solution ran inside of the fibers. The outside, feed solution must run at a
higher flow rate than
the inside, draw solution. It was suggested 1 L/min flow rate be used for the
feed solution, and
a 5-7 mi./min flow rate be used for the draw solution. The draw solution's
inlet to the membrane
needed to be kept below 2 bar so that the fibers did not rupture. The draw
solution's outlet was
directed to a separate bucket from the draw solution's reservoir in case of
solid formation in the
draw solution.
[00233] The membrane was set up so that the feed solution and the draw
solution flowed
counter current to each other. This meant that the most concentrated draw
solution contacted
the most concentrated feed solution (please note: draw solution was still more
concentrated
than feed solution), maximizing efficiency of water movement across the
membrane. The
membrane was flushed with DI water to remove any storage solution, with which
the membrane
may have been shipped. The system was then rinsed with the appropriate feed
and draw
solution before starting data collection. Data collection was done using the
Labview software.
[00234] The HFM-1 membrane was investigated using: i) a 3 wt% NaCI feed
solution
(1000 g) with a 34.5 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution (1500 g); and,
ii) a 15 wt% NaCl
feed solution with a -66 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution; and iii)
produced water, from
a Canadian fracking operation, that was softened with sodium carbonate with a -
66 wt%
ionized trimethylamine draw solution; and, iv) flowback water, from a Canadian
fracking, with a
-66 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution. Pressure at the draw solution's
inlet was
maintained between 0.6 - 0.9 bar. Each flow cell system was run for between 3
hours to 6
hours. The membrane area of the HEM-1 module was 0.062 m2.
- 40 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
[00235] The HFM-2 module was investigated using a 3 wt% NaCI feed solution
with a
34.5 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution. Pressure at the draw solution's
inlet was
maintained around 0.7 bar. The membrane area of the HFM-2 module was 0.089 m2.
[00236] Determination of the membrane's % NaCI rejection was accomplished
by
measuring residual solid remaining after removing water and amine from a draw
solution
sample by heating to 120 C for approximately 6 hours. Draw solute reverse
salt flux into the
feed solution was monitored via FT-IR (see Example 1; Figure 1C).
[00237] Results and Discussion: Two types of hollow fiber membrane modules
were
investigated: HFM-1 and HFM-2 modules. Both modules were tested using a 3 wt%
NaCI feed
solution and a 34.5 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution.
[00238] Five runs were completed with a FO flow cell containing the HFM-1
module
under the above conditions (see Table 22): one trial was run with a 3 wt% feed
solution for 160
min (HEM-1-T1); a second trial was run with a 15 wt% feed solution for 160 min
(HFM-1-T2); a
third trial was run wit a 3 wt% feed solution over 350 min (HFM-1-T3); a
fourth trial was run with
softened produced water (HFM-1-T4), and a fifth trial as run with flowback
water (HFM-1-T5).
Over the first three hours, HFM-1-T3 was similar to HFM-1-T1 (comparable due
to similar feed
and draw solutions). After ¨6 hours, the feed solution of HFM-1-T3 was
concentrated by ¨88%;
however, draw solute reverse salt flux (wt% ionized TMA, Table 22) was
relatively higher than
observed over the course of the three hour run, which is expected due to the
concentration of
the feed solution. The reverse salt flux (RSF) after the six-hour run was
comparable to that
achieved after the three hour run.
[00239] For the fourth trial, HFM-1-T4, HEM-1 module was used to test
dewatering of
produced water, which had been filtered and softened with sodium carbonate,
using a ¨66 wt%
ionized trimethylamine draw solution. The module maintained a high salt
rejection, similar to
what has been observed and described above. A flux decrease was expected as
produced
water has a higher TDS than the simulated NaCI feed solutions.
[00240] For the fifth trial, HFM-1-T5, HEM-1 module was used to test
dewatering of
flowback water, using a ¨66 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution. The
module maintained
a high salt rejection and volume reduction, similar to what was observed and
described above.
A flux decrease was expected as flowback water has a higher TDS than simulated
NaCI feed
solutions.
[00241] One trial run was completed with a FO flow cell containing the HFM-
2 module
under the above conditions with a 3 wt% feed solution for 180 min (see Table
22). The flux and
- 41 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
% NaCI rejection were found to be comparable to the HFM-1 trials, with a 79%
reduction in feed
solution mass over 3 hours. Similarly, reverse salt flux (RSF) was slightly
higher than desired;
without wishing to be bound by theory, it was postulated that this may be an
indication of pH
instability over the trial's duration. No pH modification was carried out for
the HFM-2 or HEM-1
membrane trials, however.
[00242] EXAMPLE 10: Draw Solute Removal
[00243] Materials and Equipment: To investigate means for removing the
ammonium-
based draw solute from the herein described draw solutions, the following
materials and/or
equipment were required:
5L jacketed reactor with insulation
circulating heater to heat reactor
a heat source for sparge gas
iv. heated reservoir for solution to be degassed (hotplate / 2L, 4-neck
flask)
v. circulating pump (Fisher ScientificTM variable flow chemical transfer
pump)
vi. spray nozzle to inject solution into top of reactor
vii. stainless steel wool stuffed into reactor to provide surface area (SS
wool)
viii. sparge gas (compressed air)
ix. trap to capture TMA being forced out of reactor
[00244] Operating Conditions: Conditions employed with the above set up
were as
follows:
x. reactor & tubing insulated
xi. circulating heater set to: 75 C
xii. air heater set to: 75 C
- 42 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
xiii. hotplate set to: 70 C
xiv. pump speed set to: 5, fast
xv. airflow set to: 5
[00245] Method of Operation: The 2L 4-neck round bottom filled with 800 mL
of
deionized water, placed in a heaton with a temperature probe, and heated to 70
C. The small
circulating pump was connected to said round bottom to draw the water from it,
and pump it to
the top of the column with a spray nozzle; the water then flowed down the
column and returned
to the round bottom flask (see Figure 17).
[00246] After the water was circulating, all heat sources were turned on
and allowed to
reach temperature and stabilize for 1 hour; consequently, the reactor's
internal temperature
was recorded at 70 C.
[00247] After temperatures stabilized, a separatory funnel was used to add
200m1 of
concentrated draw solution to the round bottom flask: by adding concentrated
draw solution to
the 800 mL of DI water, provides a dilution representative of what a dilute
draw solution may
be. Further, the concentrated draw was added to the already heated water to
prevent loss of
TMA during heating. After the water and draw solution thoroughly mixed, an
initial reading at '0
min' was taken to establish a starting point. There after, on an hourly basis,
aliquots were
removed from round bottom flask and analyzed by FT-IR to determine the draw
solute's
concentration (see Example 1; Figure 1C)
[00248] Results and Discussion: It was understood that once a forward
osmosis was
complete using the herein described flow cell, it would be necessary to remove
the ionized
trimethylamine draw solute from the diluted draw solution to generate low TDS
water. As
previously described (for example, see PCT application PCT/CA2011/050777), an
ionized
switchable additive can be 'switched off', or rendered non-ionized with mild
heating (50 C)
and/or by use of an inert sparging gas such as nitrogen or air.
[00249] As the non-ionzed form of the switchable additive and draw solute
is
trimethylamine, a gas under ambient conditions, it was expected that mild
heating or sparging
may remove not only CO2 from the draw solution, but the non-ionized draw
solute as well,
generating water. Consequently, methods of efficiently removing the TMA-based
draw solute
from solution were considered.
[00250] Consequently, a litre-scale system for draw solute removed was
investigated. It
was recognized that a heated, high surface area needed to be incorporated into
the system to
- 43 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
maximize gas removal from the draw solution; as such, the 5 L jacketed column
was packed
with stainless steel wool. A sparge gas was used to facilitate movement of
gaseous vapours
from said column as decomposition of the draw solute liberated TMA and CO2
gas. The system
was run between 50 C and 70 C, with any runs above 70 C showing a substantial
loss of water
with the TMA and CO2. This system successfully allowed for <0.1 wt% residual
draw solute to
be reached in under 3 hours of circulation, thereby demonstrating effective
removal of draw
solute from the dilute draw solution.
[00251] EXAMPLE 11: Comparison of Sparging Gases for Draw Solute Removal
[00252] 66 wt% Ionized TMA (100 mL) was diluted with deionized water (100
mL) in a
2 L 3-neck round bottom flask. One neck of the flask was connected to a
temperature probe,
the second neck was connected to a gas dispersion tube ("c" frit porosity)
that was connected
to a flow meter, with the third neck was connected to another 2-neck round
bottom (250 mL)
that was cooled in an ice/salt water bath. The second neck on the 250 mL flask
was connected
to a piece of tubing that was directed to the back of a fumehood as an
exhaust.
[00253] Trials were run at three different temperatures: 46 C, 56 C and
70 C. For each
temperature, one trial was completed using nitrogen gas, and another using
carbon dioxide. For
trails at 46 C, gas flow rate (FR) was 4 standard cubic feet per hour; for
the higher
temperatures, gas flow rate was 8 standard cubic feet per hour. Each trial was
an hour in
length, and samples were taken using a pasture pipette at 0, 5, 10, 15, 20,
25, 30, 40, 50, and
60 minutes. FT-IR was done on each sample to determine the ionized TMA
concentration (see
Example 1, Figure 1C).
[00254] Results and Discussion: Use of N2 versus CO2 as a sparging gas for
removal of
ionized trimethylamine at several temperatures was investigated. Use of CO2 as
a sparging gas
was envisioned to alleviate need for separate gases during draw solution
regeneration. Overall,
N2 appeared to function better at removing the ionized trimethylamine than
CO2; at lower
temperatures, it appeared that CO2 was being absorbed, as the concentration of
ionized
trimethylamine initially increased. For the 70 C run sparged with N2,
remaining wt% of ionized
trimethylamine was 0.5 wt%; it was 3.3 wt% for the solution sparged with CO2
(see Figure 18)
[00255] EXAMPLE 12: Draw Solution Reconstitution
[00256] FO systems employing the herein described flow cell, equipped with
ionized
trimethylamine as the draw solution, can be designed to be a closed-loop
system. A closed-
looped system will minimize cost and wasted materials (e.g,, draw solute),
such that TMA and
CO2 gases eliminated from the dilute draw solution will be continuously
recycled to generate
- 44 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
fresh concentrated draw solution for use in FO flow cells. Such a system will
be a closed-loop,
continuous system.
[00257] Materials: Trimethylamine was purchased as a 45 wt% solution in
water, and
used as received from Sigma Aldrich. Coleman instrument grade carbon dioxide
(99.99%) was
purchased from Air Liquide. Deuterium oxide was purchased from Cambridge
Isotopes
Laboratories and used as received.
[00258] Equipment and Analysis: Carbonation was performed using a Parr 5000
Series
Multiple Reactor System using 75 mL pressure vessels with star (cross) shaped
stir bars.
Large scale carbonation was performed in a 1 gallon Chemineer reactor vessel,
equipped with
baffles, and one propeller.
[00259] 1H NMR spectra were acquired using a Varian MR400 spectrometer. Key
chemical shift representative of TMA in solution was identified to be 2.23 ppm
in D20; the
representative chemical shift of the ionized trimethylamine was 2.87 ppm in
D20. For a mixture
of TMA and ionized trimethylamine, an additional broad peak was observed in
the NMR
spectrum, with the chemical shift ranging between 2.23 and 2.87 ppm in D20,
depending on the
ratio of TMA to ionized trimethylamine. No calibration curve was performed in
order to narrow
down a relationship between the ratio of TMA to ionized TMA and this broad
peak. Without
wishing to be bound by theory, it was postulated that the broad peak may have
been indicative
of an equilibrium between TMA and ionized TMA.
[00260] Prior to its use in the experiment outlined below, a stock ionized
trimethylamine
solution was produced via carbonation of TMA, and was stored for several days.
[00261] Procedure: Pressure drop observations were performed using 45 wt%
aqueous
TMA (1 mL) and CO2 (5 or 9 bar, static pressure), involving introducing the
CO2 to the TMA,
and measuring how much time it took for the introduced CO2 pressure to
equalize within the
system.
[00262] Temperature increase observations were performed using 45 wt%
aqueous TMA
(50 mL) pressurized to 1, 5 or 9 bar of dynamic CO2 pressure, measuring the
time it took to
reach a maximum temperature within the system. Sample aliquots were taken at
reported times
(see below), and analyzed by 1H NMR spectroscopy.
[00263] Large-scale carbonations were performed using 45 wt% aqueous TMA (2
¨ 2.5
L) pressurize to 10 bar of dynamic CO2 pressure for 30 minutes, with stirring
at 600 rpm. After
- 45 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
30 minutes the CO2 flow was stopped, and the reactor was kept at pressure for
3,5 hours until
the vessel's temperature returned to below 40 C.
[00264] Results and Discussion: Carbon dioxide was added to the TMA
solution, rather
than doing the opposite or simultaneous addition, because TMA solubility in
water is high (45
wt% at saturation), whereas CO2 solubility is low (< 1% at saturation). It was
considered,
therefore, due to this difference in solubility, that the dissolution of CO2
in water (and
subsequent conversion to bicarbonate) is the rate-determining step, and thus
became a subject
of study (see below).
[00265] It was observed that a reaction between TMA and CO2 in water, to
generate
ionized trimethylamine, is exothermic; as such, the time required to reach
maximum
temperature due to the exotherm of the reaction was determined (see Table 23).
Aliquots of
solution were removed periodically from the 50 mL of 45 wt% aqueous TMA
pressurized with
CO2 (as described above), and analyzed by 1H NMR spectroscopy to determine
approximate
conversion.
[00266] Under 1 bar of CO2 pressure, the reaction mixture's temperature
increased by
4 C over 3 h, at which point it remained constant for an additional 3 h. At
this time, an aliquot
was removed and analyzed by 1H NMR spectroscopy, which revealed very little
carbonation of
TMA had actually occurred implying that higher pressures were required.
[00267] Under 5 bar of CO2 pressure, the mixture's temperature increased by
12 C after
1 h and returned to room temperature after 5 h. After 2 h, 1H NMR analysis of
the reaction
mixture indicated carbonation of TMA was essentially complete, indicating an
improvement in
reaction kinetics of carbonation relative to the same process at 1 bar.
[00268] Under 9 bar of CO2 pressure, the temperature increased by 21 C
within 25 min.
1H NMR analysis of an aliquot taken at this time revealed indicated
carbonation of TMA was
essentially complete.
[00269] To further study reconstitution rates on a more industrially
representative scale,
the system was scaled up to 2 ¨ 2.5 L of TMA under 10 bar of CO2 pressure;
carbonation of
TMA was essentially complete after approximately 30 min, using a configuration
shown in
Figure 12.
[00270] These studies demonstrated the effective reconsititution of the
draw solution
components to regenerate the draw solution for use in FO, under conditions
suitable for use in
a closed-loop, continuous FO system.
- 46 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
[00271] EXAMPLE 13: Larger Scale Forward Osmosis Procedure
[00272] Materials: Trimethylamine was purchased as a 45 wt% solution in
water, and
used as received from Sigma Aldrich. Sodium chloride was purchased from VVVR.
Coleman
instrument grade carbon dioxide (99.99%) was purchased from Air Liquide.
Deionized water
(18 Me-cm) was provided using an Elga Purelab Pulse system. Sodium chloride
solutions were
prepared at the desired concentrations.
[00273] Lamer Scale FO Unit Parts List:
= Material compatibility: stainless steel, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE),
polyethylene (PE),
polyvinylchloride (PVC), or polypropylene (PP), as trimethylamine was not
compatible
with brass or PS = polystyrene; viton and butyl rubber may also degrade with
time
= Membrane Element: 1CM-1 custom PFO unit (0.42 m2 membrane area)
= 4 x pressure gauge or pressure sensor to keep pressure at membrane below
0.5 bar
(Swagelok PGI-63C-PG15-LAOX)
= 2 0r4 x reservoir, depending on requirement of set up (Uline S-19418)
= 2 x variable speed pumps, offering a max flow rate of 4-5 Umin (Icon
Process Controls
NEMA-4X: Emec Prius Motorized Diaphragm Pump, Floor Mount, PVC Head with
Manual
Venting, VITON 0-Rings, PTFE Diaphragm, Ceramic Balls, NEMA Motor Mount,
Expoxy
Coated Aluminum Frame, Manual Stroke Adjustment, Rated at 520LPH at 5 Bar
(70PSI),
DC Motor, 3/4HP, 90VDC, 56C Frame, Wiring between Motor and Speed Controller,
Liquid Tite NEMA 4X Enclosure, Mounting Plate for Motor Speed Controller,
304SS
(foregoing provides make, model, and material of manufacture for the pumps)).
= 2 x flow meters if needed for determining flow rate (Flow Meter and
Controller, Icon
Process Controls I PC32100ILCAN I PC3210038CAN, IPC8050CAN, IPC399001CAN;
and Power Supply, Omega PSR-24L: 1/2" Signet Low Flow, Flow Meter, PVDF Body,
NPT Ends, Complete wtth LCD Controller Which Shows Flow Rate and Total, Flow
Range
of 0.3LPM to 3.8LPM (foregoing provides make, model, and material of
manufacture for
the meters))
= 2 or 4 x scales (appropriate in size to measure feed and draw solution
masses)
= 2 x pressure relief valves, depending on set up (Swagelok
KCB1C0A2A5P20000).
= Tubes and valves (HDPE plastic tubing and connectors purchased from
hardware store
such as Rona, Home Depot, CanadianTire, Lowes, etc.)
= Three-way Valves (McMaster Carr 4467K43) for switching between reservoirs
as needed
= See Figure 19 for set-up of larger scale FO unit.
- 47 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
[00274] Representative Larger Scale FO Run: A sodium chloride solution (20
kg) was
loaded into a feed solution reservoir. Ionized trimethylamine solution (20 kg)
was loaded into a
draw solution reservoir. Pumping the feed solution was first initiated at a
slow flow rate of -0.5
L/min, with the draw solution pumping at a rate of -0.5 Umin. Feed solution
flow rate was then
increased to a desired flow rate of -2 L/min, followed by a draw solution flow
rate of -2Umin.
Scales under the feed and draw reservoirs were tarred, and a timer was
started. Mass readings
were recorded at a desired time interval. Flux was determined based on the
first 30 min of
testing (see Table 24, Figure 15, and Figure 16 for details on specific FO
runs).
[00275] Representative Larger Scale Sodium Chloride Run: A 3 wt% sodium
chloride
solution (20 kg) was loaded into a feed solution reservoir. A 12. 5 wt% sodium
chloride solution
(20 kg) was loaded into a draw solution reservoir. Pumping the feed solution
was first initiated
at a slow flow rate of -0.5 L/min, with the draw solution pumping at a rate of
-0.5 L/min. Feed
solution flow rate was then increased to a desired flow rate of -2 L/min,
followed by a draw
solution flow rate of -2L/min. Scales under the feed and draw reservoirs were
tarred, and a
timer was started. Mass readings were recorded at a desired time interval.
Flux was determined
based on the first 30 min of testing (see Table 24, Figure 15, and Figure 16
for details on
specific FO runs).
[00276] Results and Discussion: The FO flow cell was initially run using
sodium chloride
feed solutions to mimic osmotic pressure differences that were expected to be
observed when
using the ionized trimethylamine draw solution. A 12.5 wt% NaCI solution had
similar osmotic
pressure to a 33 wt% ionized trimethylamine; therefore, flux obtained when
using a 3 wt% NaCI
feed solution and 12.5 wt% NaCI draw solution should be comparable to flux
obtained when
using a 3 wt% feed solution and a 33 wt% ionized trimethylamine solution. One
run was done
using actual ionized trimethylamine solution to confirm this assumption.
[00277] EXAMPLE 14: Dewatering glycol/water mixtures using - 66 wt% ionized
trimethylamine draw solution
[00278] Experimental: A water sample was filtered through activated carbon,
to remove
coloured contaminates, before using it as a feed solution within the herein
described FO flow
cell. The filtered water sample (200 mL) was loaded into a feed solution
bottle, and
concentrated draw solution (100 mL) was loaded into a draw solution bottle.
Tubing was
lowered into each solution so that it did not touch the sides or bottom of the
solution-containing
bottles. Data collection was initiated on the LabView software, followed by
starting a circulating
pump and timer. After 30 seconds, the balances upon which the solution bottles
were placed
- 48 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
were tarred, and any data points collected before this time were removed from
analysis (for
example, see Example 1; Figure 1A).
[00279] Results and Discussion: Use of forward osmosis to overcome an
industrially
relevant problem of separating glycol/water mixtures was investigated. Using -
66 wt% ionized
trimethylamine as a draw solution, and a glycol/water mixture (obtained from
Fielding
Chemicals) as a feed solution within the herein and above described FO flow
cell, a flux of 6.1
L/m2/h was obtained. A low flux value was unexpected; however, glycols can
contribute to a
solution's osmotic pressure, and thus may be a contributing factor to the
lower than expected
flux value.
[00280] EXAMPLE 15: FT-IR Calibration for Analysis of Trimethylamine and
Ionized
Trimethylamine in Solution
[00281] Preparation of Standard Solutions: Aqueous trimethylamine (45 wt%)
was
purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (cat # 92262). Dilutions of this solution were
made using
deionized water to give the appropriate concentrations for analysis.
[00282] Aqueous ionized trimethylamine (66 wt%) was generated by
carbonating 2 L
portions of 45 wt% aqueous trimethylamine, for a minimum of 30 minutes, at 9
bar with stirring
at 600 rpm, in a 1 gallon Chemineer reactor high pressure reactor setup.
Dilutions of this
solution were made using deionized water to give concentrations appropriate
for analysis.
[00283] Trimethvlamine FT-IR Calibration: Using ATR-FT-IR (Agilent Cary 630
FT-IR
bench top Spectrometer), approximately 2 drops of each standard solution was
deposited onto
a sensor. A water spectrum was subtracted from resultant spectra. Area under
the curve, from
1290 to 1240 cm-1, centered at 1265 cm-1, was recorded; a calibration curve
was generated,
wherein wt% TMA = [Area]/0.1847 (see Table 1B, and Figure 14).
[00284] Ionized Trimethylamine FT-IR Calibration: Using ATR-FT-IR,
approximately 2
drops of each standard solution was deposited onto a sensor. A water spectrum
was subtracted
from resulting spectra. Area under the curve, from 1440 to 1300 cm-1, centered
at 1365 cm-1,
was recorded; a calibration curve was generated, wherein wt% ionized
trimethylamine =
[Area]/2.6994 (see Table 1C, and Figure 1C).
- 49 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
Table 1A. Flux (LMH), calculated for 1st hour of each run, from a flow cell
equipped with a feed
solution of 3 wt% NaCI, and a draw solution of 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine
Flux at 25 C (LMH)
Feed Solution
TOM-1 TCM-2 TCM-3
Concentration
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 1 , Trial 2
3 wt% NaCI 25.6 26.5 11.6 11.0 16.8 16.5
9 wt(Yo NaCI 14.9 15.4 7.8 7.1 11.9 10.7
15 wt% NaCI 10.7 10.4 5.2 5.8 8.0 N/A*
*TCM-3 membrane failed during the second trial at 15 wt% NaCI
Table 1B. Trimethylamine FT-IR Calibration Curve Data
wt% TMA Area under Curve
0.045 0.004
0.1 0.014
0.45 0.056
0.187
4.5 0.854
Table /C. Ionized TMA FT-IR Calibration Curve Data
wt% Ionized TMA Area under Curve
0.008 0.031
0.015 0.068
0.077 0.235
0.153 0.481
0.767 2.233
1.533 4.351
6.900 19.51
13.80 37.70
34.50 92.76
- 50 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
Table 2. Reverse salt flux values of wt% trimethylamine present in feed
solutions, as calculated
by GC-FID, for a flow cell equipped with NaCI feed solutions, and a 66 wt%
ionized
trimethylamine draw solution
wt% TMA (by GC)*
Feed Solution
Time TCM-14 TCM-28' TCM-34
Concentration
(min) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 1 Trial
2
60 0.028 0.026 0.051 0.060 0.079 0.077
3 wt% NaCI 120 0.040 0.039 0.095 0.116 0.161 0.142
180 0.060 0.040 0.255 0.124 0.184 0.215
60 0.024 0.067 0.046 0.090 0.072 0.117
9 wt% NaCI 120 0.039 0.190 0.071 0.091 0.122 0.244
180 0.071 0.661 0.123 0.182 0.205 0.530
60 0.036 0.090 0.044 0.046 0.091 A
15 wt% NaCI 120 0.051 0.084 0.056 0.051 0.178
180 0.063 0.092 0.057 0.057 0.197
*Average of three injections for each sample *Single membrane used for all
runs. S' Membrane needed to
be changed for runs at 15 wt% NaCI. "TCM-3 membrane failed during the second
trial at 15 wt% NaCl.
Table 3. Reverse salt flux values of wt% trimethylamine present in feed
solutions, as calculated
by GC-FID, for a flow cell equipped with a NaCI feed solution, and a 33 wt%
ionized
trimethylamine draw solution;
wt% TMA (by GC)*
Feed Solution
Time TCM-1# TCM-2#
Concentration
(min) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 1 Trial 2
60 0.026' 0.022 0.063 0.077
3 wt% NaCI 120 0.026 0.025 0.113 0.116
180 0.031 0.032 0.170 0.246
*Average of three injections for each sample. + Only two of the three
chromatograms
showed a peak for TMA. # Fresh membrane used for each run to ensure resutts
were
independent of any potential membrane degradation.
Table 4. Flux (values (LMH), calculated during 1st hour of flow cell
operation, for a FO flow cell
equipped with an NaCI or NaCl/CaCl2 comprising feed solution (the NaCl/CaCl2
comprising feed
solutions indicated by % total dissolved solids; % TDS) at 25 C.
33 wt% Draw 66 wt% Draw
Flux 1h (LMH) Flux 1h (LMH)
Feed Conc. (wt%) Feed Conc. (wt%)
Trial 1 Trial 2 Average Trial 1 Trial 2 Average
3 % NaCI 20.3 19.6 20.0 3 % NaCI 25.6 26.5
26.1
6 % TDS 11.2 10.8 11.0 6 % NaCI 20.7 20.1
20.4
% TDS 6.7 6.1 6.4 6 % TDS 18.2 16.3 17.3
9 % NaCI 14.9 15.4 15.2
10 % TDS 14.4 15.6 15.0
- 51 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
Table 5. Reverse salt flux values of wt% ionized trimethylamine present in
feed solutions, as
calculated by FT-IR, for a FO flow cell equipped with an NaCI or NaCl/CaCl2-
comprising feed
solution (the NaCl/CaCl2 comprising feed solutions indicated by % total
dissolved solids; %
TDS);.
Draw Conc. wt% Ionized TMA
Feed Conc. (wt% ionized Time (min)
(wt%) TMA) Trial 1 Trial 2 Average
60 0.02800
0.02600 0.02700
3% NaCI+ 66 120 0.04000 0.03900 0.03950
180 0.06000
0.04000 0.05000
60 0.02326
0.03144 0.02735
6% NaCI 66 120 0.04508 0.06349 0.05429
180 0.10781 0.11191 0.10986
60 0.03008
0.01985 0.02497
6% TDS 66 120 0.03826 0.03280 0.03553
180 0.06758
0.06008 0.06383
60 0.02400
0.06700 0.04550
9% NaCI+ 66 120 0.03900 0.19000 0.11450
180 0.07100
0.66100 0.36600
60 0.01712
0.02121 0.01917
10% TDS 66 120 0.02939 0.02053 0.02496
180 0.02121
0.02735 0.02428
60 0.01166
0.00416 0.00791
6% TDS 33 120 0.01712 0.00894 0.01303
180 0.01985
0.01985 0.01985
60 0.00553
0.00621 0.00587
10% TDS 33 120 0.00825 0.01439 0.01132
180 0.01848
0.01507 0.01678
+ Analysis by GC-FID included for comparison
Table 6. Flux values (LMH), calculated during 1st hour of flow cell operation,
for a FO flow cell
equipped with 6 wt% TDS feed solution and a 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw
solution,
while varying temperature of the feed solution.
Feed Conc. Feed Temp. Draw Temp. Flux (LMH)
(wt%) (CC) ( C) Trial 1 Trial 2 Average
6 % TDS 3 to 5 20 to 22* 11.43 16.00 13.71
6 % TDS 20 to 22* 20 to 22* 18.00 20.29 19.14
6 TDS 30 to 35 20 to 22* 32.00 23.43 27.71
6 % TDS 3 to 5 3 to 5 16.29 14.29 15.29
6 % TDS 30 to 35 30 to 35 24.86 22.57 23.71
*Temperature not controlled
- 52 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
Table 7. Reverse salt flux values of wt% ionized trimethylamine present in
feed solutions, as
calculated by FT-IR, for a FO flow cell equipped with 6 wt% TDS feed solution
and a 66 wt%
ionized trimethylamine draw solution, while varying temperature of the feed
solution.
Feed Conc. Feed Temp. Time wt% Ionized TMA (by FT-IR)
(wt%) ( C) (min) Trial 1 Trial 2 Average
60 0.01439 0.01712 0.01576
6% TDS 3 to 5 120 0.02735 0.02803 0.02769
180 0.04099 0.04985 0.04542
60 0.03008 0.01985 0.02497
6% TDS 20 to 22* 120 0.03826 0.03280 0.03553
180 0.06758 0.06008 0.06383
60 0.03008 0.01848 0.02428
6% TDS 30 to 35 120 0.05121 0.04235 0.04678
180 0.06213 0.05462 0.05838
*Temperature not controlled
Table 8. Reverse salt flux values of wt% ionized trimethylamine present in
feed solutions, as
calculated by FT-IR, for a FO flow cell equipped with 6 wt% TDS feed solution
and a 66 wt%
ionized trimethylamine draw solution, while varying temperature of the feed
and draw solution.
Feed Conc. Soln. Temp. Time wt% Ionized TMA (by FT-IR)
(wt%) ( C) (min) Trial 1 Trial 2
Average
60 0.01166 0.01303 0.01235
6% TDS 3 to 5 120 0.02871 0.02121 0.02496
180 0.03553 0.03485 0.03519
60 0.03008 0.01985 0.02497
6% TDS 20 to 22* 120 0.03826 0.03280 0.03553
180 0.06758 0.06008 0.06383
60 0.02326 0.01371 0.01848
6% TDS 30 to 35 120 0.04576 0.03008 0.03792
180 0.07099 0.06963 0.07031
*Temperature not controlled
- 53 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
Table a Flux values (LMH), calculated during 1st hour of flow cell operation,
for a FO flow cell
equipped with 6 wt% TDS feed solution and a 33 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw
solution,
while varying pH of the feed solution
Flux @1h (LMH)
Feed Conc. (wt%) Soln pH
Trial 1 Trial 2 Average
6% TDS 3 11.8 14.0 12.9
6% TDS 5 12.4 13.1 12.8
6% TDS 8.5 11.2 10.8 11.0
6% TDS 8 11.2 12.4 11.8
6% TDS 10 14.7 14.7 14.7
Table 10. Reverse salt flux values of wt% ionized trimethylamine present in
feed solutions, as
calculated by FT-IR, for a FO flow cell equipped with 6 wt% TDS feed solution
and a 33 wt%
ionized trimethylamine draw solution, while varying pH of the feed solution.
T wt% Ionized Trimethylamine (by FT-IR)*
inne (miM
pH 3 pH 5 pH 6.5 pH 8 pH 10
60 0.01235 0.01473 0.00791
0.01439 0.01576
120 0.02462 0.02667 0.01303
0.02667 0.03996
180 0.04167 0.03690 0.01985
0.04235 0.06861
* wt% Ionized Trinnethylannine is an average of two trials
Table 11. Flux values (LMH), calculated during 1st hour of flow cell
operation, and reverse salt
flux values of wt% ionized trimethylamine present in feed solutions, as
calculated by FT-IR, for a
FO flow cell equipped with <1 wt% TDS wastewater feed solution and a 66 wt%
ionized
trimethylamine draw solution.
Feed Solution Average Flux (LMH) Average Reverse salt flux (mg/L)
Brackish 34 1160
Deoiled* 35 1060
WACA 36 480
* Post-skim water, prior to softening (oil content -2 ppm)
A Weak acid cation exchanged, post-softening
- 54 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
Table 12: Initial ICP-OES analysis (from Caduceon) of mining tailing samples,
prior to FO
treatment.
Analyte Initial solids content of Extracted solids from Isolated feed
solution
'dry' tailings sample 'dry' tailings sample from 'dry'
tailings
(pg/g) (pgIg) sample (mg/L)
Al 1340 1220 <0.01
As 9570 12000 10.8
Cd 87.4 113 <0.005
Ca 520 770 1.05
Cr ___________ 70 58 0.035
Co 115 150 1.38
Cu 706 642 33.1
1
Fe 24800 30100 6.87
,
Pb 35 30 0.02
Mg 410 410 1.88
Ni - 90 118 0.8
P 271 244 0.1
K 160 140 4.4
Si 237 239 6.12
Na 230 210 13.1
Table 13: ICP-OES analysis (from Caduceon) of mining tailing feed solutions,
following FO
treatment.
Trial 1 Trial 2
Initial Feed
Analyte 'm IL' Feed After FO Recovered Feed After
Recovered
, (mg/L) Water (mg/L) FO (mg/L) Water (mg/L)
Al <0.01 88.5 0.06 16.8 0.1
As 10.8 83.4 0.25 10.4 0.04
Cd <0.005 <0.005 <0.005 <0.005 <0.005
Ca 1.05 12.42 1.12 , 2.74 1.21
Cr 0.035 0.36 <0.002 0.035 <0.002
Co 1.38 10.14 0.047 2.21 0.076
Cu 33.1 296.1 0.14 62.4 0.473
Fe 6.87 51.9 0.155 4.26 0.054
Pb 0.02 0.21 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02
Mg 1.88 15.87 0.63 3.74 0.82
Ni 0.8 5.97 0.04 1.23 0.04
P 0.1 1.8 <0.1 0.1 <0.1
K 4.4 29.1 1.7 , 8.8 , 1.9
Si 6.12 56.4 2.84 11.3 3.29
SiO2 13.1 120.3 6.07 24.1 7.04
Na 1.8 18.3 8.6 9.5 7.1
Hardness
96 5 22 6
(as CaCO3)
- 55 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
Table 14: Flux values (LMH), calculated during 1st hour of flow cell
operation, for a FO flow cell
equipped with a mining tailings feed solution, and a 66 wt% ionized
trimethylamine draw
solution.
FO Run Flux at 25 C (Lm-2h-1)" % Reductiona
Trial 1 23.6 90.95
Trial 2 25.2 58.03b
a Based on mass reduction of feed within first hour of FO flow cell operation.
b Precipitates formed during both trials; without wishing to be bound by
theory, it was considered
that enough precipitate may have formed to foul the membrane and account for
the lower %
reduction.
Table 15: Reverse salt flux (reverse salt flux) values of wt% ionized
trimethylamine present in
feed solutions, as calculated by FT-IR, for a FO flow cell equipped with a
mining tailings feed
solution and a 66 wt% ionized trimethylamine draw solution, over 48 hours.
Time Time
wt% Ionized Reverse wt% Ionized
Reverse
Sample h) h
TMA (by FT- Salt Flux Sample TMA (by FT-
Salt Flux
( ()
IR) (g/m2/h) IR) (g/m2/h)
1 0.06409 236.24 1 0.03260 121.68
2 0.05372 95.89 2 0.02890 52.61
3 0.07668 _ 88.87 3 , 0.04334 , 51.84 ,
4 0.09817 83.03 4 0.07113 63.09
0.12744 84.01 5 0.09039 63.42
Ti T2
6 0.13892 74.30 6 0.11373 65.74
_
7 0.15633 69.73 22 0.58272 76.12
. .
11 0.27821 70.37 30 0.84723 72.32 . _
23 - 0.77906 61.79 48 1.70186 58.90
46 3.89309 29.84
Table 16: Analysis of select parameters from received concentrated municipal
wastewater
analysis pre- and post-FO treatment
Acceptable Recovered water G
Received Independent
Parameter Units
analysis d levels after FO
analysis e Trial 1 Trial 2
treatment
Residual
mg/L ---- ---- ---- 1126 1378
Draw Solute
Conductivity pS/cm 8478 <400 10800 107 a 218 a
NI-13/NW mg/L 0 < 1 2.56 <0.01 a 0.01 a
Total P , mg/L 6 <0.4 5.1 0.5 a , <0.1 a
COD mg/L 147 <30 38 74b 119b
a Values are corrected for concentration in draw solution; b Values are not
corrected for concentration
in draw solution; C Recovered from dilute draw after draw solute removal; d
Analysis of municipal
wastewater received with sample; e Received sample of municipal wastewater was
sent out for
independent analysis by Caduceon prior to FO treatment
- 56 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
Table 17: Analysis of select parameters from received produced wastewaters pre-
and post-FO
treatment
Parameter Initial Feed Solution Recovered Water a
Residual Draw Solute (ppm) ---- 734
Conductivity (pS/cm) 191000 894
pH 6.47 9.45
TDS (ppm)b 199000 507
%TDS Rejection --- 99.9%
a Recovered water from dilute draw solution after removal of draw solute; b
Analysis was completed at
Queen's Analytical Services Unit
Table 18: ICP-OES analysis (from Caduceon) of received produced wastewaters
pre- and post-
FO treatment
Post FO Post FO
Post
Element Unfiltered Filtered Double Process -
Process - Recovered
(mg/L) Double Single Water
Softening
Softening Softening
, .
Aluminum 0.35 0.15 3.74 0.17 N.D. 0.13
_
Barium 2.15 2.25 0.707 0.627 0.653 0.009
Boron 32.7 35.1 34.7 34.9 40.1 1.12
Calcium 5930 5500 254 423 1195 1.11
Chromium 0.008 <0.002 , <0.2 _ 0.002 0.003 <0.002
Copper 0.004 0.002 0.489 0.291 0.079 0.007
Iron 13.9 0.183 4.31 0.051 N.D. 0.035
Lithium 41.3 45.4 29.9 48.6 N.D. N.D.
Magnesium 893 836 496 313 487 0.22
Manganese 1.42 , 1.33 0.829 0.004 N.D. 0.002
Phosphorous 1.0 0.4 < 10 0.1 0.3 <0.1
Potassium 2370 2230 2520 3580 3275 4.2
Silica 25.3 14.6 3.96 0.54 17.9 9.55
Silicon 11.8 6.82 , 1.85 0.25 8.35 4.46
Silver 0.21 0.036 1.8 0.050 0.048 <0.005
Sodium 57600 53800 66800 41550 88150 68.4
Strontium 77.2 77.3 53.6 123.5 258 N.D.
Zinc 0.42 0.061 , 2.15 0.079 0.088 0.4
Hardness (as
18500 17200 2670 2340 4990 N.D.
CaCO3)
TDS 199000 N.D. 186000 264000 266500
507
Table 19: Flux values (LMH), calculated during 1st hour of flow cell
operation, for a FO flow cell
equipped with a flowback wastewater feed solution, and a 66 wt% ionized
trimethylamine draw
solution
Flux at 25 *C (Lm"
FO Run % Reduction
211-1)
Trial 1 15.1 39.2
Trial 2 15.0 43.0
- 57 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376
PCT/CA2015/050908
Table 20: Analysis of select parameters for flowback wastewater pre- and post-
FO treatment
Parameter Initial Feed Solution Recovered
Water
Residual Draw Solute (ppm) ---- 1071
Conductivity (pS/cm) 130400 1213
pH 6.38 9.40
TOC (ppm)a 762 314
TDS (ppm)a 132000 681
%TDS Rejection --- 99.6%
L % TOC Rejection --- 68.5%
a Analysis was completed at Queen's Analytical Services Unit
Table 21: ICP-OES analysis (from Caduceon) of received flowback wastewaters
pre- and post-
FO treatment
Control
Feed Solution Recovered Recovered
Element (mg/L) Recovered
Pre FO Water T1 Water T2
i Water
r
Barium 3.19 0.008 0.008 0.006
1
Boron 25.8 2.18 2.02 0.171
Calcium 4900 1.44 1.09 0.79
Chromium 0.016 <0.002 <0.002 0.002
,
Copper 0.012 0.011 0.004 0.022
Magnesium 488 0.31 0.2 0.19
Potassium 1580 9.9 8.5 1.4
Silicon 19.6 4.08 3.44 3.83
Silica 41.9 8.73 7.37 8.2
1 Silver 1-
0.062 < 0.005 <0.005 <0.005
Sodium 31100 108 94.5 11.1
Strontium 288 0.035 0.024 0.006
Zinc 0.356 0.156 0.102 0.368
Hardness (as CaCO3) 14300 5 4 3
TDS 132000 940 . 422 118
TOC 762 327 300 490
Table 23. Maximum temperature for carbonation of 50 mL of 45% TMA under
various dynamic
pressures of carbon dioxide.
CO2 Pressure Initial Maximum Temperature Time to
Reach
(bar) Temperature Temperature Rise ( C) Maximum
( C) ( C) Temperature (h)
1 19 23 4 3
18 30 12 1
9 19 40 21 0.5
- 58 -
CA 02995285 2018-02-09
WO 2017/024376 PCT/CA2015/050908
Table 24. Flux values (LMH), calculated during 1st hour of flow cell
operation, and reverse salt
flux values of wt% ionized trimethylamine present in feed solutions, as
calculated by FT-IR, for a
FO flow cell equipped with a 12.5 wt% NaCl draw solution and a 3 wt% NaCl feed
solution, in a
large scale FO flow cell.
Feed Draw Average Flux Reverse salt flux Comparative Small Scale
Solution Solution (LMH) (wt%) at 60 min FO Cell
3 wt% NaCI 12.5 wt% 131
NaCI
Flux Average: 19 LMH
33 wt%
3 wt% NaCI Ionized TMA 12.4 0.0656
1Average of 2 runs
- 59 -
Table 22: FO treatment of simulated and actual feed solutions with ionized TMA
draw solutions in flow cell using hollow-fibre module membranes
0
wt% Ionized % Reduction =
Flux Fluxa % NaCI Time
RSF RSF ...
Membrane Feed Draw TMA
Feed Solution
(L/m2/h) (L/m2/h/bar) Rejection (min) (g/m2/h) (mol/m2/h) .-I
(by FT-IR) Mass'
1,4
A
60 0.0537
6.31 0.0521 t.4
34.5 wt%
.--.1
3 wt%
a
HFM-1-T1 NaCI Ionized 4.51 5.01 98.9 120
0.0589 2.28 0.0188 65.49
TMA
160 0.0822 1.72 0.0142
60 0.1004
15.24 0.1258
66 wt%
15 wt%
HFM-1-12 NaCI Ionized 1.54 1.93 99.1 120
0.1204 8.27 0.0682 22.59
TMA
160 0.1260 6.12 0.0505
60 0.0256
3.00 0.0248
120 0.0641 2.56 0.0211
34.5 wt%
P
180 0.1015 1.69 0.0140
3 wt%
HFM-1-T3 1 NaCI Ionized 4.19 4.66
97.4 87.98' 0
. 240 0.1715 1.29 0.0106 w
O'N TMA
..:,
0
0
F.
300 0.3171 1.21 0.0099 .
0
1
350 0.5412 1.40 0.0116
0
03
60 0.0345
5.38 0.0444
L
Softened 66 wt% 120 0.0533
390 , 0.0322 , I.
.
HFM-1-T4 Produced Ionized 1.11 1.59 98.6 180 0.0826
3.78 0.0312 27.25d ..
Water TMA 240 0.1148
3.71 0.0306
300 0.1408 , 3.43 0.0283 ,
. .
120 0.1263 7.38 0.0609
180 0.1226 4.14 0.0342
_
66 wt% 240 0.1419 3.14 0.0259 .
HFM-1-15 Flowback Ionized 2.31 2.72
96.2 59.10e
TMA 300 0.1385 216 0.0178
V
360 0.1160 1.33 0.0110 n
-3
390 , 0.1315 , 1.32 , 0.0109
n
.
.
60 0.0752
5.61 0.0463 it
34.5 wt%
HFM-2-1- 3 wt%
F.
Ionized 3.82 5.46 99.3 120 , 0.1582 3.50 , 0.0289
79.76
Ti NaCI
ui
TMA
e-
180 0.3742 3.07 0.0254 r.,4
=
ao
a Refers to pressure at the draw solution inlet; b Based on the mass reduction
of the feed solution; c Over a six hour time period; d Over a five hour time
period;
0
e Over a six hour and 30 minute time period
ts.)
=
--
Table 25: % TDS rejection calculated for FO treated brackish, deoiled, and
weak-acid cation exchange-treated process water, as determined -4
-"--
by ICP-OES analysis
t.)
A
W
-4
VN
Brackish Water
Simulated FO with 34.5 wt% Draw
FO with 69 wt% Draw
69 wt%
Sample Initial
(Results in Blank Process Draw After Trial 1 Trial 1
Trial 2 Trial 2 Trial 1 Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 2
.1g/g) Water* FO and Feed Draw Feed Draw
Feed Draw Feed Draw
1
TMA (After FO) (After FO) (After FO) (After
FO) (After FO) (After FO) (After FO) (After FO)
Removal
,
B <1.0 4.4 <1.0 5.7 1.6 5.9 1.2
7.3 2.2 6.2 2 P _
Ba <0.05 5.0 <0.05 , 8.5 , 0.16 8.6 , 0.084 , 8.3
0.17 9.4 0.13 .
Ca <0.05 26 0.5 46 0.90 47 0.58 32
0.99 52 1 .,
0
.
.
co Fe <0.05 1.4 0.23 1.4 0.20 1.3 0.082
1.4 0.28 1.2 0.27
-,
1 K <0.2 13 0.2 22 1.4 22 1 30
2.0 26 1.7 .
Mg <0.05 22 0.11 38 0.63 39 0.33 50
0.54 42 0.59 2
Na <1.0 2600 <1.0 4300 190 4300 110
6000 240 4900 200 .,
Pb <0.03 0.038 <0.03 0.032 <0.03 <0.03 <0.03
<0.03 <0.03 0.033 <0.03
Sr <0.01 3.4 <0.01 5.7 0.095 5.7 0.042
6.5 0.078 6.1 0.072
Zn <0.01 0.021 0.94 0.058 0.73 0.052 0.44
0.023 0.84 0.062 1.1
Total (pg/g) 2675.3 2.0 4427.4 195.7 4429.6 113.8
6135.5 247.1 5043.0 206.9
% Rejection
TDS ---- ---- --- 97.07 97.62
94.46 97.29
% Reverse _ . .
n
Salt Flux 99.74 99.79
99.69 99.82 -3
n
tt
Water After Oil Skimming Process (Deoiled)
F.
ui
,
BI Simulated FO FO with 34.5 wt% Draw
FO with 69 wt% Draw
ank
69 wt%
=
Draw After
Sample Initial FO and Trial 1 Trial 1 Trial 2
Trial 2 Trial 1 Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 2 0
(Results in Process TMA Feed Draw Feed Draw
Feed Draw Feed Draw ts.)
ug/g) Water*
-4
Removal (After FO) (After FO) (After FO) (After
FO) (After FO) (After FO) (After FO) (After FO) . -"--
As <0.03 0.045 <0.03 0.073 <0.03 0.073
<0.03 0.11 <0.03 0.12 <0.03 r.)
A
W
B <1.0 22 <1.0 31 5.6 31 5.8 41
5.5 39 6.6 -4
a
Ba <0.05 0.41 <0.05 0.64 <0.05 0,72 <0.05
0.93 <0.05 0.97 <0.05
Ca <0.05 12 , 0.5 , 19 , 0.23 19
0.29 , 28 0.23 29 0.39 _
Fe <0.05 1.5 0.23 2.5 0.089 2.2 0.094
3.7 0.14 4.0 0.10
K <0.2 22 , 0.2 38 2.0 39 1.8 ,
55 1.7 52 2.4
Mg <0.05 6.8 0.11 9.8 0.11 9.6 0.095
14 3.6^ 14 0.22
Na <1.0 640 <1.0 920 24 940 21
1200 20 1200 36
S <1.0 30 <1.0 47 <1.0 46 <1.0
68 <1.0 71 <1.0
Sr <0.01 0.26 <0.01 0.39 <0.01 0.42 <0.01
0.59 <0.01 0.60 <0.01 P
2
1 Zn <0.01 <0.01 0.94 0.027 0.063 0.32 0.062
0.069 0.14 0.071 0.10 ,0
aN
.
t,..) Total " 1 (pg/ml) 735.02 , 1.98
, 1068.43 32.09 1088.33 29.14 , 1410.89 27.71
1410.76 45.81
0
% Rejection
TDS ---- ---- ---- 97.64 98.02
96.98 96.20 .
17
% Reverse
...
---- ---- 99.76 99.80
99.81 99.80 .
Salt Flux --
Water after Weak Acid Cation Exchange Column
,
Simulated FO with 34.5 wt% Draw
FO with 69 wt% Draw
69 wt%
Sample Initial
Draw After Trial 1 Trial 1 Trial 2
Trial 2 Trial 1 Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 2
(Results in Blank Process
FO and Feed Draw Feed Draw
Feed Draw Feed Draw Iv
ug/g) Water*
TMA (After FO) (After FO) (After FO) (After
FO) (After FO) (After FO) (After FO) (After FO) n
-3
Removal
n
. , . .
. . . _ ,
As <0.03 0.044 <0.03 0.083 <0.03 0.075
<0.03 0.094 <0.03 0.11 <0.03 rt
=
B <1.0 22 <1.0 34 4.9 33 4.3
38 4.8 42 5.2 -.
Ca <0.05 0.077 0.5 2.3 0.095 5.2 0.12
0.41 0.35 0.41 0.13
rij
Fe <0.05 1.6 0.23 3.5 0.089 3.1 0.056
4.0 0.083 4.4 0.13 ..T>
=
K , <0.2 24 0.2 47 2.9 44 2.7
49 , 2.9 , 56 2.5 ,
0
Mg <0.05 <0.05 0.11 0.12 <0.05 0.097
<0.05 0.16 <0.05 0.20 0.31 ta
Na <1.0 700 <1.0 1200 48 1100 45
1300 50 1500 38 . ...,
-.1
-1-
t..)
4:.
S <1 . 0 38 , <1.0 , 78 , <1.0 69
<1.0 , 82 <1.0 91 <1.0 w
--1
Zn <0.01 0.011 0.94
0.051 0.057 0.053 0.042 0.041 0.090 0.060 0.10 ,
Total
785.73 1.98 1365.05 56.04 1254.53 52.17 1473.71
58.22 1694.18 46.37
(pg/ml)
-
% Rejection
TDS --- ---- ---- 95.08 95.39
95.55 96.22
'
% Reverse
--- ---- ---- 99.71 99.80 99.84
99.90
Salt Flux
*Average of Two Runs; "Removed From Average
9
2
..,,
01
u,
0
i
1.,
0
,i
.
.0
n
-9
n
t)
a
!-L-.1
t.,.
=
=
.,
[00285] All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in this
Specification
are indicative of the level of skill of those skilled in the art to which this
invention pertains.
[00286] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the
same may be
varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure
from the spirit and
scope of the invention. The scope of the claims should not be limited to the
preferred
embodiments set forth in the description, but should be given the broadest
interpretation
consistent with the description as a whole.
- 64 -
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-08-26
